The Troubles of SpongeBob
by SpriteCoke
Summary: Sandy admits that she has feelings for SpongeBob but SpongeBob doesn't feel the same way. He has his eyes on someone else. What will Sandy do to get SpongeBob to like her, and will she succeed or fail? One-sided SandyxSpongeBob. SpongeBob Squidward slash.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm a mega SpongeBob fan. Also a fan of the SpongeBob/Squidward pairing. **

**I know most people think heterosexual love on SpongeBob is lame so the same probably goes for homosexual love. Of course, most people are closed-minded, so they'd actually probably consider it worse. **

**But I'm gay, so obviously homosexual pairings mean more to me than heterosexual pairings do. I mean, heterosexuals like Sandy/SpongeBob because the fans themselves are heterosexual. I like SpongeBob/Squidward because I'm homosexual. I can't relate to either member of a heterosexual pairing as much as I can to a homosexual pairing. Be open-minded, don't leave bad reviews because you're homophobic. **

**As for the fans of SpongeBob/Squidward: Enjoy. **

--

Chapter 1

One day in the beautiful city of Bikini Bottom, Patrick and SpongeBob sat in front of the pineapple blowing bubbles. It was morning and the sun was shining brightly on them as SpongeBob tried teaching Patrick his bubble blowing skills.

" Just shut your eyes and imagine a snail... imagine every detail, from the bulging eyes to the slimy bottom..." SpongeBob said, peacefully. He dipped his bubble wand into the bottle of soap and then brought it to his lips, his eyes shut.

" Repeat after me..." SpongeBob said before slowly blowing into the hole of the bubble wand. Patrick watched as a snail formed and was lifted into the air by a gust of wind.

" Oooh... My turn!" Patrick yelped, grabbing SpongeBob's bubble wand. He tried sticking it into his own bottle but realised it was closed. He tried to get the wand into the bottle by slamming it against the cover repeatedly. SpongeBob watched with a smile on his face wondering if Patrick was going to figure out how to open the bottle.

After a few minutes, Patrick finally gave up and handed his bottle of soap to SpongeBob.

" SpongeBob, can you open this!?" he yelled, his eyes sad. He wished he could do it by himself without SpongeBob's help but he couldn't, sometimes. It was a good thing SpongeBob was there to help him in his time of need.

" Daha!" SpongeBob laughed, taking the bottle from Patick, " Sure, buddy!". SpongeBob simply twisted the cap and the bottle was opened. Patrick yelped with joy and quickly grabbed the bottle from SpongeBob, accidentally spilling some onto the sand.

Now with his own wand, Patrick blew hard into the hole of the wand. What came out was not a snail but instead a blob that floated above their heads.

" Um, Patrick, maybe we should try that one again..." SpongeBob said, looking up at the blob.

" It only looks like that because it's a baby," Patrick explained. SpongeBob thought.

_That makes no sense, baby snails don't look like blobs! Or maybe he just means it's still in the mother snail's belly... Oh, now it all makes sense! Patrick made a snail embryo! _

" Oh, I see it, now! Great job, buddy! Dahahaha! Now, let's make a--!" SpongeBob was cut off by a loud voice from above.

" Could you please be quiet? I'm trying to sleep!" Squidward yelled from the left window.

SpongeBob looked up and smiled as Squidward shook his fist.

" I'm sorry, Squidward! We're just blowing some bubbles and Patrick--" SpongeBob began.

" I don't care! Just keep your voices down so I can get some rest!" Squidward yelled before shutting the window. SpongeBob waved.

" Poor Squidward! He needs his sleep! The more he sleeps, the more beautiful he is! Come on, we can do something inside..." SpongeBob said, closing his bottle of bubbles.

" Um... yes," Patrick said, standing up and accidentally knocking over his bottle of bubbles. He frowned as he watched the liquid grow larger and larger but then brightened up once SpongeBob put his arm around his shoulders.

Suddenly, just as SpongeBob and Patrick were about to open the door the the pineapple, both heard a loud noise.

" Howdy, SpongeBob!"

SpongeBob quickly turned around after hearing the high-pitched voice. He always feared that Sandy might sneak up on him and karate chop him in half. When he realised she was not wearing any gear, he relaxed and released Patrick then walked over to his female friend.

" Hey, Sandy! What are you doing here?" SpongeBob asked, politely, with a smile on his face.

" I was just wondering if you'd like to come to the karate exhibition with me! I heard there's one takin' place over there!" Sandy pointed down the road and SpongeBob looked where she was pointing and saw nothing.

" I don't see anything," SpongeBob said scratching the top of his head.

" Well, of course you don't, it's too far for your eyes to see! Now, come on, let's go! It's gonna be great! We'll get to meet Master Shing!" Sandy babbled, grabbing ahold of SpongeBob's arm and tugging him toward herself. SpongeBob gasped.

" Master Shing!?" he repeated, his eyes lighting up. He jumped up and down and squeezed his fists.

" Oh, this'll be great! I can show him all of my greatest karate moves!" SpongeBob said before showing off how good he was at karate.

" Hahaha! No offense, SpongeBob, but you ain't the greatest at karate! Now, if I showed him what I could do, he'd be runnin' away faster than you could say 'rodeo'!" Sandy said, putting her hands on her hips. SpongeBob frowned.

" Yeah, yeah, yeah... you go ahead and do that. Master Shing will tell us who the real Master of Karate is!" SpongeBob said.

" It's gonna be me!" Sandy challenged. SpongeBob grinned then turned back to his best friend.

" Hey, we can pick up where we left off once I get back, okay? See you later!" SpongeBob yelled to Patrick before running off with Sandy in the other direction. Patrick waved and smiled.

" Bye, SpongeBob!"

--

At the exhibition, Sandy and SpongeBob waited in line. They were going to have the new gear they bought signed by the greatest Karate Master of all time! SpongeBob couldn't control himself; he was hopping and twisting and laughing. Sandy chuckled at SpongeBob's silly attitude and then put her hand on his back.

" You ought'a calm down there, little dude. You don't wanna be out of energy once you meet the master! You gotta show him your, uh... 'great' karate skills," Sandy said. SpongeBob stopped fidgetting and instead stood still as a statue, until they moved forward an inch.

Two hours later, they finally were standing just two feet in front of the Master Shing. SpongeBob gasped and held out one of his new karate gloves. Master Shing wrote his name on it as if he were performing a karate move and when the glove was handed back to SpongeBob, he yelped and hugged it.

Sandy smiled and chuckled as SpongeBob sat on the floor staring at the glove.

" Next!" said the master, which brought Sandy out of her reverie.

Sandy smiled and held out her hand as she stepped in front of Master Shing.

" Hey! I've been followin' your work for quite some time! I was wondering if you'd like to see what I can do!" Sandy asked, pressing her thumb to her chest. Master Shing sighed.

" Huh? You are a squirrel! You could never perform any karate move properly!" Master Shing said, shooing Sandy away. Sandy gasped and stepped back.

" What did you say?! Just because I'm a squirrel doesn't mean I can't do no karate! HIIIYYYAAA!!"

Sandy chopped the desk Master Shing was autographing papers on in half. Master Shing yawned and put his feet on top of the pile of wood, trying to appear unmoved.

" Look... I don't know how to say this, but hey... you stink. I bet this piece of paper is better at karate than you!" Master Shing said, pointing to SpongeBob who was now standing beside Sandy. SpongeBob gasped and pointed his finger at Master Shing.

" Wait just a second! Sandy can do anything I can do! She can probably do more!" SpongeBob said, standing in front of Sandy with his hands on his hips.

" Doubt it. Now get out of the line! I must authograph," the master said, seeming to have lost interest in the two as he called out for a new table. It was brought to him immediately.

" You can't--!!" SpongeBob began, but Sandy took him by the arm.

" C'mon, SpongeBob, let's just go... you shouldn't waste your breath," Sandy said, looking down at her feet. SpongeBob wanted to teach that guy a lesson but he listened to Sandy and followed her out of the building.

Sandy was quiet as they walked towards the treedome. SpongeBob sighed and put his hand under his chin. He wanted to make Sandy feel better and the only thing that made her happy was either Texas or karate. It didn't seem like the time to bring up Texas, SpongeBob thought that might just make her even more upset... and he obviously couldn't bring up karate, so he thought maybe she'd like to go on some horrific and terrifying adventure. Or maybe she would have liked to play something violent such as hockey or wrestling.

" Um... wanna go surfing?" SpongeBob asked, hoping she'd like to surf rather than risk their lives.

Sandy turned to SpongeBob and smiled. She loved when he'd try cheering her up when she felt low, it made her feel all warm inside. She put her arm on his shoulder.

" I'd like that, SpongeBob! I'll go get my board!" Sandy said before running into her treedome. SpongeBob watched her until she was out of view, then he grinned.

" Well, seems like you did it, again, SpongeBob! You did it, again!" SpongeBob said, referring to how he could always make Sandy happy when she was upset.

Sandy came back out, quickly, with her board held above her head.

" Woohoo! Let's go, SpongeBob!" Sandy said before running off.

" Wait, I need to get my board!" SpongeBob yelled. Sandy grabbed SpongeBob by the arm and pulled him as she ran.

" We can share my board, just come on!" she said. SpongeBob freed himself from her grip and ran on his own, smiling and laughing as he thought about how much fun they were going to have.

Once at the beach, they surfed and surfed, doing all different types of tricks. Sandy could balance herself on her tail as she surfed and SpongeBob could balance on his tongue while he surfed. They continued to compete until both were tired. They picked a spot on the beach and sat down, watching the setting sun hit the top of the Goo Lagoon's waves.

" I totally beat you, out there! I get 5,000 points because my tricks were way better than yours!" Sandy complained.

" No, no! I did great tricks! Balancing on my tongue! Jumping over the waves! I even surfed with my butt! I get the 5,000 points!" SpongeBob argued.

" No, I do! I balanced on my tail. My tail! Do you know how difficult that is?!" Sandy yelled, holding her palms up. SpongeBob crossed his arms over his chest.

" Yeah, well... Well... How about we both win the 5,000 points?" SpongeBob asked. Sandy stroked the bottom of her glass bubble, thinking. She then held her hand out to SpongeBob.

" Deal," she said. SpongeBob shook her hand then smiled.

" You know, apart from all the arguing and that rude guy at the exhibition, this is actually a great day!" SpongeBob exclaimed, laying down on the sand with his arms under his neck. Sandy laid down, as well.

" Yeah, it is..." Sandy said, happily.

For a while the two watched the sky. The sun was setting lower behind the hills and it was getting pleasantly cool. SpongeBob sighed and watched the clouds go by, thinking one looked an awful lot like Squidward playing his clarinet. He sighed and a smile formed on his face.

Sandy wasn't thinking about the clouds. She couldn't stop thinking about how great SpongeBob made her feel and how happy she was that they met that day so long ago. More and more lately she'd catch herself thinking up scenarios of where their first kiss would be and which place they'd first go on a date. She'd even think about getting SpongeBob to take off his helmet so the two could kiss while in her bedroom.

_It wouldn't be so bad if I told SpongeBob how I feel about him. I'm pretty sure he feels the same way! He always sticks up for me, listens to me, treats me nicely... If I told him, he'd be glad, not mad! We'd be able to take our relationship to the next level! We could do all that stuff that girlfriends and boyfriends do... which isn't very different from what we do, now!_

Sandy swallowed and nervously itched her neck. She looked over to SpongeBob and realised his eyes were shut. She swallowed again and sweat began sliding down her face. She even began making odd noises, which caused SpongeBob to open his eyes and look over at Sandy.

" Hey, uh, you okay there, Sandy?" SpongeBob asked, now sitting. Sandy took her arms out of the air bubble and put them where they belonged. She then stroked the top of the glass, next to the flower.

" Well, SpongeBob... I guess I'm alright. It's just... well... I've been thinking lately..." Sandy began, nervously. SpongeBob blinked.

" About what?" he asked.

_I can do this! It's now or never, Sandy! _she told herself.

" Well... you know, today, at the exhibition when you stuck up for me? Why'd you do that?" she asked, not willing to make what she was wondering that obvious.

SpongeBob lifted a brow.

" You're my friend, Sandy! That karate guy was a jerk! You don't deserve to be treated like that..." SpongeBob said, his eyes sad.

" See, like... what you just said... the things you say, sometimes, makes me think that... we're more than friends. Or could be... you know," Sandy swallowed, finding her throat very dry and her face very hot. SpongeBob blinked rapidly.

" I'm sorry, Sandy, but Patrick is my best friend... nobody can take his place," SpongeBob said, looking away from Sandy. He thought Sandy knew that nobody could ever replace Patrick as SpongeBob's best friend.

" I don't mean as your best friend, SpongeBob. I mean as something more... as in, you're... you're g-girl... friend..." Sandy whispered, fear taking over. She shivered and hugged herself as she waited for SpongeBob's reaction, hoping it wasn't rejection.

" Well, of course you're my girlfriend," SpongeBob simply stated. Sandy jerked.

" Huh?! Since when?!" Sandy yelled, confused. SpongeBob fidgeted.

" Well... since I met you," SpongeBob said. Sandy rubbed the back of her neck.

_This is too good to be true. I'm sure he's misunderstanding..._

" Do you have any other girlfriends, SpongeBob?" Sandy asked.

" Um... there's you, Pearl... um... would Mrs. Puff count?... I don't think so, she's more of a teacher than a friend..." SpongeBob babbled as Sandy sighed and held her head down low.

" Then there's that lady I met at the store... but she was just an acquaintance..." SpongeBob then looked to Sandy, who was frowning and seemed even more upset than before.

" Are you okay, Sandy?" SpongeBob asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.

" I need you to listen carefully, SpongeBob... pay extra close attention..." Sandy said, looking into SpongeBob's eyes. SpongeBob shook his head up and down.

" I don't mean a girlfriend as in your friend that's a girl. I mean... would you like to date me? When you date somebody, you take them out to dinner and spend the day with them... and kiss them and all that. Do you understand?" Sandy tried explaining. SpongeBob's eyes were as big as giant clams.

" Um, Sandy, I don't think that'd really... work out..." SpongeBob said, quietly. He was looking in the other direction and playing with a small pile of sand beside him.

Sandy frowned.

" Well, why not?" Sandy asked. She could see nothing wrong in them dating. She thought it would be absolute paradise being able to belong to SpongeBob.

SpongeBob was quiet for a long time.

" We could never kiss, one of us always has to wear a helmet, that's why," SpongeBob said swallowing and still not looking at Sandy.

" Well... you could come into my dome and I could spray you with water from the hose every other minute. That'd be enough, wouldn't it? We could kiss, then..." Sandy said. SpongeBob rubbed the back of his hand against his forehead.

" But... I... I'm too short," SpongeBob said.

" Oh, you're not all that short! You're just perfect!" Sandy said, scooting closer to SpongeBob. She hugged him and he gasped and flinched. He tried catching his breath.

" But I--! You--! We just--! Our teeth would just bash together! We both have buckteeth, it just won't work out, Sandy! I'm sorry!" SpongeBob yelled, jumping up from where he was sitting and running off in the other direction. Sandy watched in shock as SpongeBob disappeared.

_How come he doesn't want to date me? Am I ugly? Too fat? Am I too energetic for him to keep up with? _

_Maybe there's someone else! What if he's dating Pearl? Or some other sea creature that I don't know about? _

_I need to find out why he doesn't want to date me! Once I find out, I'll fix that problem and then we can be together! We're perfect for eachother, I just gotta get him to see that!_

--

SpongeBob continued running home, his mind so impaired that he ran into Patrick, who was still standing in the same spot SpongeBob had left him in.

_He must have been waiting all this time!_

" I'm sorry, Patrick, I was out longer than I thought I'd be," SpongeBob said once he got up from the ground, brushing off his knees. Patrick patted SpongeBob's back.

" It's okay, buddy! We can just go inside and watch tv! Then make some hot chocolate! And get some--!" SpongeBob cut Patrick off before he got his hopes too high up.

" I'm sorry, Patrick, but I'm just not in the mood. I'm going to bed..." SpongeBob said, walking over to his door. He pulled a key out from under the mat and then opened his door, going inside his dark house. Patrick blinked and watched SpongeBob unhappily shut the door behind him.

Inside, SpongeBob walked over to his chair and sat down. He had no idea what he was going to do. He didn't want to lose Sandy but he didn't want to date her either. But he feared that if he didn't, he'd lose one of his most precious friends.

" What to do, what to do..." SpongeBob said out loud as Gary came crawling into the living room.

" Meow?" Gary asked, now at SpongeBob's feet. SpongeBob pet Gary's shell.

" I don't know what to do. Sandy told me she likes me and she wants us to be together. But I don't wanna date Sandy! And I'm afraid that if I don't, she won't ever wanna see me again..." SpongeBob told his pet. Gary blinked then meowed a few times.

" You think I should tell her...?" SpongeBob asked. Gary meowed, again.

" But I don't want her to hate me! She'd never look at me the same way!" SpongeBob complained, holding his head in his hands. Gary meowed.

" You're right... I could lose her if I don't tell her. I just gotta take the risk... hopefully we'll be able to stay friends. I really don't want to lose her, Gary..." SpongeBob said. He sighed and got off the chair. There was always one thing that could make him happy when he was in the worst of moods.

SpongeBob looked out his window and up above he could see Squidward stretching and putting on his purple pajama hat. SpongeBob blinked and sighed, then headed off to bed.

--

**This first chapter is more based around Sandy and SpongeBob than SpongeBob/Squidward, but don't worry. In future chapters more attention will be put on SpongeBob and Squidward. **

**It's hard to make a cartoon series dramatic, so it probably seemed a bit lame... but hopefully it'll still be amusing, anyway. I based what's going on between SpongeBob and Sandy on me and an old friend of mine. **

**If you want to share advice or you merely want to comment, go ahead. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

SpongeBob was in Sandy's tree, sitting in a rocking chair. He rocked back and forth until Sandy came back with cookies and milk.

" Here you are, SpongeBob!" she exclaimed, a big smile on her face.

SpongeBob took the glass of milk and munched on a cookie.

" Mmm!" SpongeBob took another bite and another and suddenly he realised he could no longer feel his legs. He tried moving them but they wouldn't budge.

" S-Sandy! I can't move my legs!" SpongeBob yelled, grabbing his legs with his hands and shaking them. He couldn't feel anything.

" Oh, don't worry, SpongeBob. You'll get the feeling back in your legs in a couple of days... not that it'll matter..." Sandy said, smiling eerily. SpongeBob gulped and realised he could no longer move his arms. There must have been something in the cookies!

" Sandy, what have you done?! Why are you doing this?!" SpongeBob cried, trying his hardest to move. He was losing the feeling in his chest, his neck, and then finally his face until all he could move was his eyes. He wanted to scream but couldn't.

" If you won't date me, then you suffer the consequences!" Sandy yelled before taking a saw out of the closet. She ran towards SpongeBob and then all SpongeBob could see was darkness.

Suddenly, SpongeBob jolted upwards in his bed, screaming. He was hot and was covered in sweat. He looked around noticing he was still in his room and laying on his bed.

" Oh my gosh... it was just a dream! Just a dream... Sandy's not gonna kill me..." SpongeBob swallowed then sighed and layed back down, his eyes wide open. He didn't think he'd be able to go back to sleep after having that dream. He didn't think he'd be able to see Sandy at all without thinking about it.

SpongeBob turned over and picked up Gary by the shell, awakening him. Gary meowed, annoyed.

" Sorry, Gare bear. I had a bad dream, so you can sleep right here with me tonight..." SpongeBob explained, putting Gary in the spot next to him. Gary quickly fell asleep, liking the soft and comfy bed a lot more than the hard floor covered in news paper.

SpongeBob lay awake and frightened. Every time he tried to fall back to sleep, he worried that he might have the same dream. He thought of good things, like Krabby Patties and jellyfishing with Patrick. He thought of blowing bubbles and the time he and Patrick played tag for the whole day.

With those thoughts in his head, he tried to fall back to sleep. He shut his eyes, turning over in his bed.

_Go to sleep! Go to sleep! I need to get my rest! _

SpongeBob twisted and turned, but he didn't feel any better. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened earlier. He was worried that Sandy might go back home to Texas. He feared that more than anything else. Sandy was so important, losing her would be more traumatic than losing all his limbs and not being able to grow them back. SpongeBob shivered and whimpered, then threw the covers off himself. He jumped off his bed then slowly walked over to the stair case, still in his underwear.

Once down the stairs, SpongeBob went into the kitchen and made himself a seanut butter and jelly sandwich. Usually once he ate one of these babies, he'd fall right to sleep, but tonight it wasn't working. He was too excited, he didn't think anything would get him to fall asleep. He didn't think he'd get a good night's sleep until he and Sandy's relationship was back to normal.

" I have to go to work in the morning, I need to get to sleep! This calls for desperate measures..." SpongeBob thought and thought and decided that maybe a bed time story would put him to sleep. He smiled and slid down to the basement, where all his books were.

SpongeBob found all sorts of books. Most of the books he had were full of adventure and horror and he surely didn't want any of that. He looked and looked until finally he decided to read the simple and calming story called " The Happy Little Snail". He liked this story because it reminded him of Gary.

He read one page then another and realised that it wasn't all that relaxing reading a story to yourself. How could he sleep while he was reading? He needed somebody to read it to him. He closed the book and went upstairs, deciding to run over to Squidward's house. The night scared him and he could hear all sorts of noises that sounded an awful lot like Sandy's boots against the sand. SpongeBob shivered, put the book in his mouth, then climbed up the side of Squidward's house until he was at his bedroom window.

SpongeBob took his book out of his mouth and held it with one arm then knocked once, knowing Squidward didn't like when he knocked too much. SpongeBob saw that Squidward only rolled over and hugged his clarinet. SpongeBob knocked two more times and whispered "Squidward...!".

Squidward then sat up in his bed and looked over to where the noise was coming from. He shrieked when he saw SpongeBob because he thought it was a burglar.

" It's okay, Squiddy, it's only me!" SpongeBob explained, smiling. Squidward blinked then rubbed his eyes, noticing SpongeBob was in his underwear.

"Can I come in?" SpongeBob whispered. Squidward groaned and looked at the clock realising that it was 3:00 am.

" SpongeBob, it's three in the morning! I have to go to work in a few hours, leave me alone!" Squidward yelled, laying back down and putting his pillow over his head. SpongeBob knocked on the window.

" Can I come in?" he asked, again. Squidward frowned and stepped out of bed, walking over to the window and opening it. He knew SpongeBob wouldn't leave him alone until he let him into his room, for whatever reason. Squidward rubbed the side of his head and let SpongeBob into his room.

" What do you want?!" Squidward asked, folding his arms across his chest, irritated. SpongeBob held his book out to Squidward, who read the title out loud.

" What is this?!" he yelled, already losing his patience. SpongeBob put the book in Squidward's hand and then put his arm around Squidward's shoulders, smiling as he opened the book to the first page.

" It's a book! It's about this snail who doesn't let anything bother him," SpongeBob explained, showing Squidward a picture of a snail smiling in the rain.

" Well what do you want me to do with it?!" Squidward asked, angrily.

" I was wondering if you coud read it to me... I--"

" What makes you think I want to read this story to you, of all people, at three in the morning?!" Squidward yelled, his hands on his hips.

" Please, Squidward! Please, please, please! I had a scary dream and I can't fall asleep! If you read this to me, maybe I'll get tired!" SpongeBob was on his knees, hugging Squidward's four legs.

" G-get offa me! Hey, let go!" Squidward cried, trying to balance as SpongeBob squeezed his legs tighter.

" Please, please, Squiddy!"

" Alright, alright! Only if you let go of my legs, first!" Squidward yelped. SpongeBob released Squidward's legs and jumped into the air, cheering.

" Thank you so much! I swear I'll never bother you, again!" SpongeBob promised.

" Yeah, right, sure..." Squidward whispered before sitting at the end of his bed. SpongeBob sat beside him and clasped his hands together. Sighing, Squidward began.

" Once upon a time there was a snail. He was a very happy snail. He was so happy that everyone called him Happy. Nobody was as happy as Happy was. Happy would be happy even if there was a storm. Happy was happy even when he couldn't find his favorite toy. Happy was happy even when everyone else was unhappy. He was so happy that those who were unhappy, were happy when Happy was near them..." Squidward paused and looked at SpongeBob who was smiling brightly.

"This is stupid!" Squidward cried out. SpongeBob frowned.

" No it's not, Squidward! It teaches people that they don't have to let things bother them! I think that you should take Happy's advice..." SpongeBob said. Squidward frowned and _hmph_ed, squinting his eyes. He then continued reading.

" One day Happy went to the store to get his favorite can of soup. He looked and looked but found that it was not there. But he didn't care. He knew that it wasn't the end of the world and he got some different soup..." Squidward paused once he felt something touching him. He looked to his left and found SpongeBob resting his head against his shoulder. Squidward blinked, shocked, then growled and pushed SpongeBob away from him. SpongeBob frowned and cleared his throat as Squidward continued reading the story.

" Happy then brought the soup to the cashier and when he tried to give the cashier the money, he couldn't find it. He checked his pockets and realised that they were empty. ' I forgot my wallet!' Happy said. Happy smiled and told the cashier ' I'll be right back!' and he went home to get some money from his mother. When he came back to the store, he gave the money to the cashier and got his soup,"

Squidward stopped reading and looked over at SpongeBob, whose eyes were closing as he sat. Squidward poked SpongeBob's chest and SpongeBob's eyes flew open.

" You seem tired, you can go home now," Squidward said, shutting the book and giving it back to SpongeBob.

" But, uh..." SpongeBob started, but wasn't able to finish.

" So go, go, go! Enjoy your sleep!" Squidward said, pushing SpongeBob towards the window he came from. SpongeBob yelped as he was pushed from the window and fell to the cold ground, his book falling on his head. Guilt overcame Squidward but he shook it off.

" He's fine, he's always jumping off of things!" Squidward told himself as he went back over to his bed and layed down. It was still warm where SpongeBob had been sitting and Squidward reluctantly enjoyed that warmth. Catching himself, he moved over so he could no longer feel SpongeBob's warm spot and tried falling back to sleep.

" Oh, ouch..." SpongeBob whimpered, putting his arm back in place. He walked over to his fallen book and ran back into his house as quickly as possible. He kept thinking he was seeing things.

SpongeBob opened the door and locked it once inside, then slowly stepped upstairs dropping the book on the steps in the process. SpongeBob yawned and then smiled, glad that he was tired. He thought he'd easily be able to fall asleep, now.

" That Squidward, he's so great. Reading me a story in the middle of the night, how sweet! I should thank him for this later on... maybe I could make him breakfast! He always says he never has time to make breakfast in the morning..." SpongeBob said to himself.

Finally in his room, he walked over to his bed and got under the covers next to Gary. He twisted and turned until he found a comfortable position and fell right to sleep with a smile on his face.

_Goodnight, SpongeBob... _Sandy thought as she sat in the dark corner of SpongeBob's bedroom.

--

**We have proof that Squidward really does care for SpongeBob, like the scene with the hash slinging slasher when Squidward says "No matter what I've said... I've always sorta liked you!". Squidward just adds in the 'sorta' because... well, he's Squidward. We all know he simply means he really does like SpongeBob. He just has too much pride to admit to such a thing. **

**The pairing really is believable. To me, at least. **

**Review, eh? **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sandy was at the treedome, laying in her bed. She'd been spying on SpongeBob all night from when he had first fallen asleep to when he had Squidward read him a story and then when he fell asleep, again. She quickly and quietly left SpongeBob's house once she was sure he wouldn't awake and now she was in her own bed, thinking.

_What I found out tonight was pointless. I'm going to have to try again, tomorrow, during the day when everyone's awake and more stuff happens. _

Sandy turned over in her bed and shut her eyes, finally falling asleep at 4 am.

--

SpongeBob awoke by his loud alarm clock at 6 am. He shut it off, smiling, then stretched and scratched his back. He instantly remembered that he was planning on making Squidward breakfast and so he hopped out of bed and put his pants on.

" I'm ready!" SpongeBob exclaimed as he ran out of his room and down the stairs. He had a little more than an hour left before he and Squidward had to go to work and so he gladly made his way from his house to Squidward's.

SpongeBob didn't bother knocking; he didn't want to wake Squidward up. He knew how much Squidward enjoyed his beauty rest.

_This is going to be perfect! I'll make him some eggs and toast with a cup of coffee! He'll be well rested, have a great meal, and then together we can make our way to work! _

SpongeBob got eggs from Squidward's fridge and then found a pan in the cabinet. He put the pan on the stove and cracked the eggs, then got the bread from the counter and put it in the toaster.

As he stirred the milk in with the eggs, he began to remember what had happened with Sandy. SpongeBob frowned.

_I'm going to have to tell her... today. If not today, then tonight. Gosh, I really don't wanna do this. I wish yesterday never happened! I don't want to lose one of my greatest friends!_

SpongeBob sighed and wiped his eyes. He didn't want to get any tears in Squidward's breakfast, he wanted Squidward to have a happy meal. He wanted it to be full of love, not sadness.

Just outside of Squidward's house stood Sandy, peeking in through the window at SpongeBob.

She watched as SpongeBob put two plates of eggs and toast on the rounded table in the kitchen. She scratched the back of her neck.

" Do they eat breakfast together every morning?" she asked out loud. She thought it was rather strange that someone who really disliked SpongeBob would eat breakfast with him every morning. She shook it off. She'd rather SpongeBob eat breakfast with Squidward rather than some girl.

SpongeBob began making the coffee and to cheer himself up, he started to sing.

" It's... breakfast! Breaky-break-a-dee, breakfast! La, la, la! Break! Break, break, break! Fast, fast, fast!" he sang.

--

Suddenly, Squidward was woken up by the sound of singing. He jumped out of his bed and stomped over to the window.

" SpongeBob, stop singing! It's 6:30, I want some peace and quiet before I have to deal with you at work for the whole day!" Squidward yelled, to no one, he'd noticed. SpongeBob was not in his front yard or in his own yard. Yet he still heard:

" Sorry Squidward!"

Squidward realised SpongeBob was in his own house. He gasped, quickly put on his slippers, then ran down the stairs to be greeted by SpongeBob.

" Hi, Squiddy! Breakfast is ready, you should get dressed!" he said as he lit the two candles he'd put on the table. Squidward scratched the top of his head.

" What are you doing in my house?! And why'd you make breakfast? It's not my birthday," Squidward said, his curiousity winning over his anger. SpongeBob shooed him away.

" Oh, I just thought I'd make breakfast, is all. Now you go get ready, and fast! Your food's getting cold..." SpongeBob said, pushing Squidward back up the stairs.

" Don't push me, I know how to walk!" Squidward snapped. SpongeBob smiled and sat down on one side of the table. He wasn't going to eat until Squidward got back. He didn't want to be rude.

Upstairs, Squidward changed out of his pink pajamas. He wondered why SpongeBob was making him breakfast. It irritated him that SpongeBob thought he was allowed to come into his house without permission but at the same time he also felt somewhat _happy _that SpongeBob considered him important enough to make him breakfast before work. He shook his head, trying to get rid of that feeling. SpongeBob was nothing more than an annoyance, a pest. He wasn't his friend. Squidward wouldn't allow himself to care for someone as childish and immature as SpongeBob. The only people Squidward wanted to associate with were people with intelligence, class, and maturity- people like Squilliam.

Squidward sighed and took his brown shirt from the drawer and then headed to the bathroom. He would have eaten first before taking a shower, but he hadn't thought of it as SpongeBob pushed him up the stairs.

_Idiotic sponge... why does he think I should get dressed and and take a shower before eating? See, this is all his fault! He made me come upstairs to get ready. I've never even heard of such a thing! Getting ready... BEFORE EATING?! _

Squidward obviously liked having a reason to be mad at SpongeBob.

_Well... I didn't have to listen to him. Why do I listen to that moron? It's going to get me killed, one day. I shouldn't take advice from the mentally challenged. _

Squidward stepped into the shower and turned it on. He quickly soaped himself up and then rinsed himself off. Once out of the shower, he dried off with a towel and then put on his clean, brown shirt.

Squidward looked at himself in the mirror, checking for any sort of blemish. He thought he looked great, so he smiled and then left the bathroom.

Once downstairs, Squidward found SpongeBob still sitting at the table; fork and knife in his hands. He had a smile on his face and Squidward wondered how long he had been like that.

" Have you just been sitting there the whole time with that smile on your face?" Squidward asked, curious but also irritated at SpongeBob's idiocy. SpongeBob seemed to just now realise that Squidward was back.

" Squidward! Welcome back! Now, sit and eat! We've gotta be to work iiinnn..." he checked his watch " 20 minutes!" SpongeBob was so ready to eat, he was starving.

" I can't wait," Squidward said, sarcastically. SpongeBob chuckled.

" Me neither..."

Squidward finally sat and then SpongeBob dug in, getting food all over his face and the table. Squidward picked up his fork and then stuffed the food into his mouth slowly and patiently. He looked at SpongeBob and flinched.

" Do you have to eat like that? It's so gross," Squidward said, one eye shut in disgust. SpongeBob paused.

" Sorry, Squidward!" he said, eating slower. He chewed slowly and as quietly as he could.

" How's that?" SpongeBob asked. Squidward sighed.

" It could use improvement...," he said.

Outside, Sandy glared at Squidward. She didn't know why but at that moment she wanted to karate-chop him in the face.

_How come SpongeBob's acting like last night didn't even happen?! You'd think he doesn't even care about me! He's paying too much attention to SQUIDWARD, like they're a couple 'a love birds! _

Sandy growled. She understood that the two were merely having breakfast but she still couldn't help but feel jealous. She wondered why SpongeBob never ate breakfast with _her_ but instead with some cranky and hateful squid.

Back inside, SpongeBob finished his meal and put his plate in the sink. Squidward was still eating, slowly.

" Mmm, mmm, mmm! That was delicious!" SpongeBob said, before taking his chair and placing it beside Squidward's.

Squidward looked at SpongeBob, irritated, and SpongeBob looked back with a big smile on his face. Squidward faced the other way and then SpongeBob lost his smile.

" Can't you push over?" Squidward asked, pushing on SpongeBob's chair with his legs and moving him over an inch. SpongeBob yelped.

" Sorry..." SpongeBob said, getting off the chair and putting it back across the table.

Squidward finally finished his breakfast and gulped down his coffee, leaving the plate and cup on the table. SpongeBob took the dishes and put them in the sink and then looked at his watch. They had ten minutes to get to work.

" Time to go, Squiddy! Get your hat on, I'm going to go get mine!" SpongeBob said, excitedly. He ran over to the door and then opened it, running outside.

Sandy gasped, quickly running behind Squidward's house, her eyes wide. SpongeBob didn't notice her and she sighed, wiping her hand against the top of her air bubble.

_That was close... _she thought.

Inside the pineapple, SpongeBob grabbed his hat and put it on his head, smiling.

" I'll see you later, Gary!" he called to his pet. He left the house, finding Squidward waiting in his front yard. SpongeBob smiled and blushed, feeling special that Squidward would wait for him.

He walked over to Squidward and put his arm around his shoulders. Squidward glared and SpongeBob smiled.

"Thanks for waiting for me, Squiddy ol' pal," SpongeBob said as the two began heading off to work. SpongeBob looked over at Patrick's rock but didn't see his friend.

"Hey, Patrick!! I'm going to work!! See you later!!" SpongeBob yelled as loud as he could, right beside Squidward's head. Squidward flinched, covering his ears with his hands.

"SpongeBob, you little--!" Squidward began, pausing when Patrick's rock flew open revealing a naked Patrick who was smiling and waving.

" Bye, SpongeBob! See you after work, buddy!" he said. SpongeBob waved, back. Squidward groaned and the two made it to work.

--

Once at work, SpongeBob happily greeted his boss.

" Good morning, Mr. Krabs! I'm ready for work!" SpongeBob said, excitedly, saluting his boss. Mr. Krabs smiled. It was great having an employee who looked at his job like it was a _good_ thing. He was the complete oppostite of Squidward and that was useful, even if the sponge was beyond annoying at times.

" Good! Go ahead, then, and cook up some krabby patties! The customers will be comin' in any second! " Mr. Krabs said. SpongeBob ran into the back room, already cooking six patties once Squidward made it over to the cash register.

" La, la, la, la, la, la, la! I'm making some Ker-abby patties!" SpongeBob sang as he flipped each patty, a smile on his face.

_What did I tell him about singing?! _Squidward thought, glaring at his forehead.

"SpongeBob, what did I tell you this morning?" Squidward asked, as patiently as he could. SpongeBob stopped singing and thought.

" Um... at three? Or six?" SpongeBob asked. Squidward sighed.

"What did I say at six this morning?"

SpongeBob put his hand to his chin and tapped it.

"I think you were sleeping at six," SpongeBob said. Squidward growled and turned around, looking at SpongeBob through the window. SpongeBob smiled and waved.

" Okay... listen carefully..." Squidward began. At that moment, SpongeBob's mind went back to the night before when Sandy was trying to explain what she meant by 'girlfriend'.

_I need you to listen carefully, SpongeBob... _She'd said, before explaining that she wanted to be in a relationship with him. SpongeBob's eyes got wide as the whole night replayed before him, ending with him running from a sad-eyed Sandy.

SpongeBob slammed his face down on the burning stove, crying.

" ...so do you--!?" Squidward paused, his brows lifting. He always yelled at SpongeBob, he was quite surprised that the sponge was taking it so badly.

" Um, SpongeBob...?" Squidward said, quietly. He tapped SpongeBob on the shoulder.

" Oooh, why?! Why, why, why, why, why?! WHY?!" SpongeBob cried, slamming his fist against the stove repeatedly. Squidward's eyes widened.

" Look, Sponge... I... I'm sorry I was impatient. Just stop crying, will you?"

SpongeBob sniffed and looked up from the stove and into Squidward's eyes.

" It... it's not you, Squidward. Just, something you said reminded me about... about Sandy!" SpongeBob continued to cry once he said his female friend's name. He fell to the floor and hugged himself. Squidward swallowed, his throat becoming dry. He quickly went into the back room with SpongeBob and picked him up, holding him close to his face.

"Look, if you don't stop crying Mr. Krabs is going to make you. And if that doesn't work, he's going to have you take a day off and I'm going to have to make the krabby patties all by myself! So... just tell your old pal squiddy what's wrong and then we can both feel better," Squidward said, placing SpongeBob back on the floor. SpongeBob wiped his eyes and sniffed, looking up at Squidward.

" Okay... " SpongeBob began, sitting on the floor.

" Well... last night, me and Sandy were watching the sunset... and Sandy told me that she... she wants to be my girlfriend. As in... one that you date... But I don't like her like that and I'm afraid that she'll hate me when I tell her why we can't be together! What if she goes back to Texas?!" SpongeBob yelled, holding the sides of his head. His breathing was quick and his eyes widened as he imagined how horrible that day would be.

Squidward flinched.

"Sandy_ likes you _?! Ew, how gross! How could she like someone like you?! You're a--!" Squidward paused once he saw SpongeBob's unhappy expression.

"You're a... nice little guy, heh. And know what I think you should do? I think you should just ignore her. It'd be a lot easier than telling her how you feel," Squidward said. SpongeBob blinked.

" I can't ignore her, Squidward! Then this problem might never be rectified! I can't sleep knowing that our relationship is going downhill..." SpongeBob said, standing up from the floor. He wiped his eyes.

" I'm going to have to tell her how I feel, whether she ends up going back to Texas or not. Besides, maybe she'll understand!" SpongeBob said, trying to cheer himself up. Squidward scratched his chest and sniffed.

" You feel better?" Squidward asked. SpongeBob shook his head up and down and then hugged Squidward.

"Oh!" Squidward yelped, his eyes widening. He hated when SpongeBob touched him in such a friendly way. It made him feel happy and happiness was not something he wanted to feel when near someone as stupid as SpongeBob. He moved his arms out of SpongeBob's embrace and used them to push the sponge away.

"Don't do that," he said before running quickly back over to the cash register.

SpongeBob frowned and went back to cooking the krabby patties. He'd noticed some had tears on them, so he decided to make a whole new, happy batch. He kissed each one.

--

After work, SpongeBob and Squidward were walking back to their homes, quietly. Usually SpongeBob was talking non-stop but tonight he wouldn't say anything. It unnerved Squidward, maybe even made him feel bad for the little sponge.

_Poor SpongeBob... I can't imagine how hard it'd be to have one of your best friends confess their love for you. Especially if you don't have the same feelings... I wonder what he's going to tell Sandy. He mentioned that he had to tell her WHY they couldn't be together. _

_Is it because she's too... insane? Too irritating? Well, if that was the case then I think they'd be perfect for eachother. Morons are attracted to morons, after all. _

"Squidward, I'm gonna turn here. I have to go see Sandy..." SpongeBob suddenly said. He looked worried.

"Yeah. Okay," Squidward said, pretending not to be interested.

"Wish me luck?" SpongeBob asked, clasping his hands together. Squidward stopped walking but didn't turn around.

"Um... good luck," he said, uncomfortably. SpongeBob smiled briefly then headed down the hill and over to Sandy's home.

--

Sandy had been following the two and when she heard that SpongeBob was planning on stopping by her house, she ran as quickly as she could down the hill. She hid behind coral trees and rocks, and finally made it to her treedome. Looking back, she saw SpongeBob was about 100 feet away. She ran into her home, quickly got out of her suit, and then grabbed the hose and started spraying the flowers of her garden.

She heard a knock a couple minutes later, so she shut off the hose and walked over to the door, finding SpongeBob in his water helmet. She let him into her house, noticing that he obviously found some flowers on the way to her treedome. It put a smile on her face.

"Um... hi, Sandy..." SpongeBob said, quietly and looking down at his feet. He held out the flowers and Sandy took them into her hands.

" Hi, SpongeBob..." Sandy said, uncomfortably. The two stood in front of eachother, refusing to look eachother in the eyes. Finally, Sandy found the courage to speak, knowing that they weren't going to get anywhere by standing and saying nothing all day.

"Well, come on in!" Sandy said, as happily as she could. She wanted to break the ice so SpongeBob would speak up and tell her what he needed to.

"Oh... uh... alright," SpongeBob said, nervously. He smiled fakely and stepped two feet into Sandy's home. Sandy closed the door and began walking over to the table. She took out of the vase the flowers SpongeBob gave her from his last visit and replaced them with the flowers from his new visit. She then sat down and motioned for SpongeBob to do the same.

"So, you wanted to talk?" she asked, calmly, once SpongeBob was seated. She realised that she wouldn't have known that he wanted to talk if she hadn't been spying on him. She tensed and began stuttering.

"I, well... I mean--" she started, but SpongeBob cut her off.

"Yes, Sandy... I wanted to talk to you about... last night," SpongeBob said. He began sweating.

It was quiet until Sandy quickly and loudly spoke.

" Am I too fat?!" Sandy asked, her eyes big. SpongeBob yelped and flinched and once his brain was back to functioning properly, he shook his head back and forth.

"Sandy, I don't judge people by their loo--,"

"Am I too energetic for you? Do you want somebody calm and proper? Am I just not what you're looking for in a girl?!" Sandy continued. She wasn't expecting to react like this, but she couldn't help it. She'd loved SpongeBob since the day they met and she had to know why he wouldn't be with her. She had to know her faults so she could fix them.

"Sandy, calm down! It's not like that at all!" SpongeBob cried out in his defense. Sandy was now standing on the table, looking down on a nervous and shivering SpongeBob.

"There's somebody else, isn't there?! Isn't there?!" Sandy screamed, holding her head in her hands. Obviously the lack of sleep and nourishment was getting to her. Plus, unrequited love wasn't good for a squirrel's attitude, either.

"Gah, Sandy, you're scaring me! Could you please just sit down and listen?!" SpongeBob yelled as he clenched his tie as tightly as he could. Sandy took deep breaths and looked down at SpongeBob. She cleared her throat and softly climbed off the table top and sat back down, uncomfortable.

"I'm... sorry about that. It's just..." Sandy paused and shook her head back and forth. She wasn't going to bring up the fact that she was in love with SpongeBob, again. It'd just complicate things.

"Uh... go ahead. Tell me what you need to say. I'm listening..." Sandy said, quietly. She looked down at her lap as SpongeBob sighed and flattened out his tie. He puffed out his chest, trying to be brave, but it was quite hard for him to do.

" Sandy... there... there is someone else," SpongeBob said, his eyes watering once Sandy looked up at him. Her ears were lower than usual and that meant she was close to crying, SpongeBob had learned. Seeing his friend so unhappy made him want to cry. He sniffed.

"Is... is it Pearl?" Sandy asked quietly. She really couldn't think of any other girl SpongeBob was close to. SpongeBob's bottom lip quivered and he covered his face with his hands.

"No!!" he cried, tears falling from his eyes and filling up his water helmet. Sandy fiddled with her thumbs.

"Who is it, SpongeBob? You can tell me... I won't get mad," Sandy said, calmly. SpongeBob took his face out of his hands and looked up to the sky.

"Cruel world, why must you torture me so?!" SpongeBob cried, shaking his fists at the sky and falling off the table seat. He layed on the ground and wept, his eyes wide. Sandy walked over to SpongeBob, kneeling down beside him.

"I... I can't date you, Sandy, because I... Squidward and I... I have feelings for... Squidward," SpongeBob said, covering his face with his hands once he'd said the words. Sandy gasped and stood up from the ground, giving SpongeBob a queer look.

"Squidward?!" she asked, confused. SpongeBob nodded.

"SpongeBob, this ain't time for no games!" Sandy said, upset that SpongeBob would use jokes at a serious moment like this.

SpongeBob stayed on the ground but uncovered his face.

"I'm not joking, Sandy! I really do... and that's why we can't be together. I'm really sorry...," SpongeBob said, looking up at the sky. Sandy swallowed and then put her hand to her chin.

"O-oh... okay..." Sandy said, awkwardly. SpongeBob stroked his arm up and down.

_How could be like Squidward?! That's even more crazy than a bull growin' fifteen heads over night! What does Squidward have that I don't?! Boringness?! A mean and jerkish attitude?! He and SpongeBob don't belong together, they're as opposite as black and white! _

_Maybe SpongeBob just... thinks he likes Squidward. Yeah... I just gotta get him to see that they just aren't right for eachother! Me and SpongeBob belong, we're meant for eachother! I'm sure of it! _

_I'll get SpongeBob to fall in love with me. All it takes is alone time... _

"Are you going back to Texas...?" SpongeBob asked, sadly. Sandy came out of her thoughts and looked down at SpongeBob.

"No, of course not. We're... still friends, aren't we?" Sandy asked through clenched teeth. She bent down and put her hand on SpongeBob's arm. SpongeBob smiled and stood up from the ground. He hugged Sandy, who hugged him back.

"I'm so glad you're not mad! I thought you were going to hate me and move back to Texas! Oh, you don't know how much I would have missed you!" SpongeBob exclaimed, releasing Sandy. Sandy smiled.

" I would've missed you, too, SpongeBob! We're friends, I ain't leavin' for Texas no matter what goes on between us. That's a promise," Sandy said. A tear fell from SpongeBob eye.

"Well...sniff... I better get going before it gets dark. I have a feeling I'll be getting a great night's sleep now that our friendship is back to normal," SpongeBob said, walking over to the door. He looked back at Sandy.

"Bye, SpongeBob," Sandy said, a fake smile on her face as she waved. SpongeBob giggled, happily. He couldn't help himself, things were going so well.

" Bye! Thanks, again! See you tomorrow!" SpongeBob said before shutting the door to Sandy's treedome. Sandy sighed and once SpongeBob was gone, she broke the table in half, angrily.

_Stupid Squidward! _

* * *

**"Mrs.** **Tentacles" mentioned** **that she believes SpongeBob and Squidward look at eachother like brothers, instead of as the person they love. I thought 'this might be true'. I'm not the type of person that ignores a possibility just because I don't want it to be true.**

**There are scenes, like in the SpongeBob movie where SpongeBob takes a shower with Squidward before heading off to work. Squidward asks what he's doing and SpongeBob explains (either that he wanted to see him or he wanted to tell him something) and Squidward asks why he couldn't have waited until they were both at work. He tells Squidward "Well, there's no shower at work". I immediately thought that was a rather gay scene. I thought it was a joke where people would think 'Gosh, SpongeBob is sooo gay!'. But that COULD also be looked at differently. Like he's an annoying little brother that does things for no reason and makes no sense at all. Like he just lives to irritate his older brother.**

**In "The Two Faces of Squidward" SpongeBob tells Squidward he's 'a hunk' and he tells him 'You might be even more handsome than before! If that's even possible!'. Obviously, being a SpongexSquid fan, I was thinking 'SpongeBob thinks Squidward's attractive'. But I suppose that a younger brother would also call you attractive just because he cares so much for you and sees you as an almighty being (my younger sibling looks at me this way). **

**All in all, I think it can be looked at either way and it'll make sense. We see what we WANT to see. If we want to believe that SpongeBob and Squidward are merely like brothers, then that's what we'll see. If we want to believe that SpongeBob and Squidward love eachother, then that's what we'll see. It's really all about view-points. **

**What do you think?**

**(I hope me writing these long theories doesn't bother you. I just feel the need to share what I think about the pairing.)**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As SpongeBob was walking home, he had a huge smile on his face. Everything had turned out well. Turned out great, in fact. He couldn't have imagined things going better than they did. He still had one of his best friends and he revealed a secret he'd long kept unspoken.

The setting sun seemed brighter than usual, the water felt more warm. He was so happy at that moment that Larry could have beaten him at twenty competitions and he wouldn't be upset. Not that much, at least.

" La, la, la! La, la, la, la! La, la, la! La, la, la, la!" SpongeBob sang as he walked down the road, Patrick's rock coming into view. SpongeBob smiled, planning on spending the rest of the night with Patrick. He hadn't seen much of his best friend lately because of all that had been going on with Sandy so he was planning on making it up to the starfish. Together, they were going to have a night full of fun, fun, fun!

SpongeBob stopped in front of Patrick's rock and knocked three times.

"Patrick, my old friend! Come on out!" SpongeBob exclaimed, excitedly. A minute later, Patrick emerged from the darkness of under the rock. He quickly got into his pants, having been in nothing but underwear, and then walked up to the top of the sand.

" Hey, SpongeBob! How was work?" Patrick asked, kindly. SpongeBob smiled.

"Same old, same old! Now, would you like to spend the night with me?!" SpongeBob cried out, trying to psych Patrick up for the great night they were going to have. Patrick's eyes got wide and he hopped up and down.

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! I sure would! Eeee!!" Patrick waved his arms up and down, and back and forth. SpongeBob laughed and took Patrick by the hand.

"Well, come on! I've got the whole night planned! We'll watch some Mermaidman and Barnacle Boy, then we'll eat some icecream and drink soda until we can't even think straight! We'll have a slumber party, too!!" SpongeBob said excitedly as he and Patrick skipped over to the pineapple, holding hands.

Squidward looked out the window and glared at the two.

_Why are they having fun?! _he asked himself, irritated. He didn't want SpongeBob or Patrick to have fun. He didn't know why, but watching his neighbors enjoy the day and laugh made him upset. Their happiness always seemed to cause his unhappiness.

He'd once asked his therapist why that was so. The therapist, Mr. Fintip, explained that Squidward may have envied the fact that they were happy and enjoyed their lives, while Squidward was depressed and just wished his life was better. Mr. Fintip even suggested that Squidward should forget about fame, fortune, and hair and instead let loose and have fun. Squidward thought that was crazy talk and he stopped seeing Mr. Fintip.

Now, he wondered as he watched SpongeBob and Patrick disappear into the pineapple.

_Do I envy their happiness? Do I really want to... be like them? No, of course not! I want to be rich and famous and get the respect I deserve! I don't want to be a complete imbecile! I don't know what I was thinking! _

Squidward turned from the window and walked over to his clarinet. He picked it up and began playing it (or trying, at least).

_Well, they do seem to have a lot of fun... _Squidward stopped playing and set the clarinet down, walking over to the window and looking outside. The sun was setting and it looked quite beautiful.

_When's the last time I had fun? I don't think I've had real fun in years! Well, what should I expect? The people in this city always have fun because they're idiots who think bubble-blowing and jellyfishing is exciting. They're delusional. It takes more than bubble-blowing to amuse my superior mind. Now, being admired... THAT'S fun. I think..._

"Hmph. Stupid SpongeBob and his happy-go-lucky attitude. If I weren't around him so much, I wouldn't be having these foolish thoughts!" Squidward said outloud. He decided to paint pictures of himself on stage in front of millions of fans to remind himself that fame would bring the ultimate happiness, not any of the childish games SpongeBob played.

Turning around, Squidward walked over to the paint and began making a work of art.

--

Sandy was in her bedroom, laying down in bed. She was so tired, she hadn't gotten a good night's sleep ever since she told SpongeBob about her feelings for him. She tried falling asleep but she just couldn't. She couldn't stop thinking about SpongeBob and how Squidward was the object of his affections.

"Pfft... Squidward. What does SpongeBob see in him? That squid's never treated SpongeBob with kindness, it makes no sense that he likes him! He deserves better!" Sandy said, her eyes wide and bloodshot. She really needed to sleep, it was affecting her both physically and mentally.

"Calm down, Sandy... jealousy will get you nowhere. It just complicates things! Leave Squidward outta this..." Sandy told herself. She turned over in her bed and hugged her pillow, her eyes wide open.

"Once I've spent all my free time alone with SpongeBob, he'll see that we're meant to be. I'll show him how great it'd be to be my boyfriend. He'll change his mind, for sure! He oughta like nice, little ol' me better than rude, grumpy ol' Squidward," Sandy said, pressing her face hard into the pillow.

_Relax! Relax! Relax! _

Suddenly, the pillow seemed to be turning yellow. She quickly took her head off it and sat up in her bed, looking down at the pillow with wide eyes.

_What the...?_

She stared at the pillow as holes suddenly appeared and then big, bright blue eyes and a smile showed up. The pillow stood up, growing legs and arms.

"Hello, Sandy! It's me, you're good friend SpongeBob! Me and Squidward are getting married! We've already picked out the dresses we'll be wearing!" SpongeBob (the pillow) said, now wearing a wedding dress. Sandy screamed and threw the pillow across the room.

"Aaaah!! I'm goin' nuts!! Get ahold of yourself, Sandy old girl!" Sandy tugged on her ears and shut her eyes tight.

"Gah, sleep can wait! I gotta go see SpongeBob! I just gotta see what he's up to!" Sandy cried, jumping out of bed and putting on her suit. She left the treedome, sweating and red-eyed.

--

Sandy hid behind a coral tree, which was across the street from Patrick, Squidward, and SpongeBob's house. She looked at Patrick's rock and found nobody there. She looked at Squidward's house, and who else did she see but Squidward in the left window? She glared and growled, and before she could even think rationally she was running up to Squidward's front door.

--

"Aaaah, there! It's genius!" Squidward said, looking at his beautiful masterpiece. It was a painting of him playing his clarinet in front of thousands of adoring fans. Even Squilliam was there, but instead of wearing his usual clothes he was now wearing a stained and tattered shirt and he was looking up at Squidward with sadness in his eyes. Squidward laughed and went into the bathroom to wash his hands.

"Ladadee, ladadoo, ladadum... ladadee, ladadoo, ladadu--" Squidward began but he heard the doorbell.

"SpongeBob..." Squidward whispered, squinty-eyed. He shut the water off and went down the stairs to tell SpongeBob to leave him alone.

He reached the bottom floor and then walked over to his door, opening it. What greeted him was pain as he was thrown across the street by a powerful source, hitting his head on a rock. He held his head, crying out in pain.

" Ow!! Hey! What on Earth do you think you're doing?!" Squidward yelled, glaring at the person who had thrown him. He noticed it was Sandy and this caused him to lift a brow. He wondered what Sandy was doing knocking on his door at 7pm and he especially wondered why she was physically abusing him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Squidward! I thought you knew karate!" Sandy said, standing before Squidward. Squidward stood up from the ground, only to be pushed over.

"Woah! Cut it out! What is your problem?! I don't know karate, get away from me!" Squidward yelled, getting up again. Sandy was glaring at him, so he did the same.

" I don't have problems!" she said.

"Oh, yes you do! What were you doing knocking on my door at this hour?! And why'd you throw me across the street?!" Squidward yelled, putting his hands on his hips and squinting at Sandy. Sandy folded her arms over her chest and looked off in the other direction.

"Cause you deserve it, that's why," Sandy murmured. Squidward gasped.

"What do you _mean _I deserve it?! What have I ever done to you?! I've only seen you, like, three times in my life!"

"You took SpongeBob from me, you fool! We'd be together if it weren't for you!"

Squidward scoffed and put his hands to his chest.

"I didn't take SpongeBob from you! What are you talking about?" Squidward asked, curiously.

"You must know that SpongeBob's got feelin's for ya! But he won't for long! Once he sees what it's like to be a boyfriend of Sandy Cheeks, he's gonna fall for me in a heart-beat! You'll be nothin' more than a speck of dust!" Sandy said, smirking at Squidward. Squidward blinked, processing the shocking information. He gasped.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Did you say that _SpongeBob_ has _feelings_ for me?!" Squidward cried, holding his head in his hands. Sandy turned around, heading for the pineapple.

"SpongeBob _will_ be mine, just you wait and see! You sure ain't takin' him from me, you boring ol' squid!" Sandy called back, continuing to walk over to the pineapple as Squidward stood still as a statue.

Squidward's face scrunched up and his left eye twitched as he slowly walked back across the street, going into his house and locking the door.

He took a deep breath, his hand on his chest.

_Ew, SpongeBob has feelings for me?! That makes no sense! Why would he have feelings for ME?Oh my... this is not good. It's not good at all!_

Squidward slid down to the floor, his back resting on the door. He drew his legs up to his chest and hugged them, his eyes wide. This new-found information was really freaking him out.

_Why does he like me? Its not like I treat him nicely... I mean, he should have feelings for Patrick! They're together 24/7, always holding hands and laughing and spending the night together! Even him having feelings for Sandy makes more sense! _

_What do I do about this? Just ignore it? Pretend I don't know? I think that would be best... _

_Who cares, anyway? SpongeBob likes me, big deal! It's not like we'll end up in a relationship. I wouldn't allow it! No siree. I can't even think about it without feeling sick to my stomach! _

Squidward held his aching stomach. He was actually glad he had a stomach-ache because then it would prove that he was disgusted.

_Besides, its not like he'll confront me. He's never confronted me before... he's never even really hinted at it. _

_Well... I guess he does act sort of... odd around me. _

Squidward gasped.

_How did I not notice it before? I've been ignoring his attitude, mistaking everything he does for idiocy! He's always been touching me, trying to spend time with me... he's always eager for my attention, even when I tell him I don't want it..._

Squidward's eyes widened and he began biting on the tips of his hands.

_He ignores the fact that I don't want to spend time with him because he's in denial! He wants me to want to be with him, so he ignores it when I tell him I don't want to. Oh barnacles... I'm smarter than that, I should have known! _

Squidward swallowed and went up to his bedroom. He walked over to his bed and sat on the end of it, remembering when he'd read SpongeBob the story. He shook his head back and forth and grinded his teeth.

_Oh, how come I didn't see what was right before my eyes? It's so obvious! _

Squidward layed down in the bed, looking up at the colorful ceiling as he held his head. He tried to relax but laying down didn't help. He was restless. Sighing, he got up and walked over to the window. He could see through SpongeBob's window from here but all that he could see were shadows. He could tell they were in that very room, though, because of the brightness that came from the television.

_Hmm... stupid SpongeBob. Why does that idiot have to like me like that? It was bad enough when I thought he liked me as a friend! I just shouldn't think about it! Knowing that he likes me isn't going to change anything! He'll still act the same way and I'll act the same way... nothing's going to change. And that's good, very good. I just have to pretend all of this never happened! It'll be easy!_

Squidward groaned and ran his hand down his face.

--

Sandy had watched Squidward slowly walk into his house as she stepped up to SpongeBob's. She swallowed and rubbed the back of her neck, then knocked on the door three times. A few minutes later, SpongeBob answered, holding a bottle of soda. Patrick was behind him, laughing and falling over, then burping.

"Hi, Sandy!" SpongeBob exclaimed.

"Hey, SpongeBob... um, I was just wonderin'--" Sandy began.

"Aaaahahahahaa!! SpongeBoe! SpingeBarb! Ahahahaa!! C'mere!" Patrick babbled, trying to get up off the floor.

SpongeBob chuckled.

"Patrick's already gone..." SpongeBob said to Sandy, shaking his head back and forth. Sandy chuckled, nervously.

"What were you saying?" SpongeBob asked.

"Oh! Right... um... I was just wondering if you'd like to go on a picnic or somethin'..." Sandy said, shyly. SpongeBob's eyes brightened.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, immediately. He loved picnics, and was so happy that Sandy wanted to have a picnic with him even after all that had happened.

"Great! How about... once you get outta work?" Sandy asked. SpongeBob put his hand to his chin, thinking.

"Sure thing! I'll be ready!" SpongeBob said, smiling. Sandy smiled, happy for the first time that day.

"Good! I'll be ready, too! I've got some supplies of my own I wanna take! So... see you then!" Sandy said, before walking backwards. SpongeBob smiled and shut the door, then walked back over to Patrick.

"Hey, Patrick! Me and Sandy are going to have a picnic once I get outta work. So we're going to have to play Eels and Escalators after that, okay?" SpongeBob asked, sitting down beside Patrick and crawling into his own sleeping bag. He took the bowl of icecream from the floor and set it in his lap, taking a big spoonful into his mouth.

"A... picnic? What's... that's when you... uuh... eat together on a blanket?" Patrick asked, drool leaking from his mouth and onto his sleeping bag.

"Yeah, that's it. Our relationship is back to normal," SpongeBob said.

" I thought... only girlfriends did that..." Patrick said. SpongeBob raised a brow.

"Well... no, Patrick, not only girlfriends and boyfriends have a picnic. Friends can, too," SpongeBob informed, wondering why Patrick thought such a thing. Patrick shrugged, then took the icecream out of SpongeBob's hands and gulped it down without a spoon. SpongeBob laughed.

Outside in the dark, Sandy was looking in through the pineapple's left window.

_After this picnic, I'm sure SpongeBob will fall for me. I'll dress up, act as nicely as I can... SpongeBob will fall in love with me. There's no doubt about that... _

_At least I hope..._

Sandy sighed, then began heading home, failing to notice that Squidward was peeking through SpongeBob's right window.

Once Sandy was out of sight, Squidward let himself breathe. He didn't even know that Sandy was still here, he thought she had headed home long before.

_Does Sandy really like SpongeBob? Why would she? Is she interested in the crazy/maniac type? She's quite the maniac, herself... I shouldn't be surprised. They're perfect for eachother... too bad SpongeBob likes me. Huh, huh... sucker. She thinks she's got a chance with him, still? What is she, stupid? Huh, huh... _

Squidward noticed he was smiling and he quickly covered it up with a frown. It was almost as if he was glad SpongeBob liked him instead of Sandy.

_I don't know what I was thinking. I'm just going insane, is all... Living next to SpongeBob has finally gotten to me! Yes! I'm going insane because of that LOSER! He's made me so insane that I'm spying on him in the middle of the night! _

Squidward scoffed and then turned away from the window, heading to his own house.

_What am I supposed to do the next time I see him? What if I freak out? _

_No, I won't freak out. I just... have to remain calm. I'll just act normal, act as if I don't know. I could forget, couldn't I? I just have to put my mind on other things when SpongeBob's around! _

Squidward went into his bed room and layed down on his bed. He shut his eyes and tried to fall asleep. It was a hard thing to do, he couldn't stop thinking and worrying about the next day.

"Oh, this is not good..." Squidward said, eyes wide open. He didn't think he was going to have a good night's sleep at all.

_Say good-bye to your beauty, Squidward... _he thought.

* * *

**Squidward may seem a bit nicer than usual but it's only because he's going insane and he's confused. Emotions destroy him. Like, when he's nervous he doesn't yell, he tries to pretend that nothing's bothering him by acting nice (I don't know how he thinks people will think he's normal when being NICE). **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

SpongeBob yawned, sitting up from the floor. He opened his eyes, the bright sun hitting his face from the window. He scratched his back and looked beside him, finding Patrick drooling all over his pillow. SpongeBob smiled, remembering how much fun they had last night.

"That was one fun night!" SpongeBob said, outloud, getting out of his sleeping bag and then stretching. He looked at his watched and saw that it was 7:52. He and Squidward had to get to work by eight o'clock, that day, and SpongeBob gasped. He already had his pants and shoes on, but he still had to take a shower and brush his teeth.

Quickly, SpongeBob ran up the stairs and did those two things. He took a shower with his clothes on and then blow-dried himself. He brushed his teeth in fast-motion, then smiled.

_Nice, clean teeth for work! _SpongeBob thought.

It had only taken him four minutes to get ready. SpongeBob ran down the stairs, jumping over Patrick who was still laying in the middle of the livingroom.

"Patrick! Hello! Good bye!" SpongeBob said to his sleeping best friend before he grabbed his work hat and then ran out of his house, over to Squidward's. He noticed that Squidward was already gone.

"Oh my gosh! Even Squidward's already at work!" SpongeBob exclaimed. He hated coming to work _after _Squidward, it made him feel oddly like a failure. Yelling, SpongeBob quickly ran all the way to the Krusty Krab.

_I hope I make it, I hope I make it, I hope I make it!! _

--

SpongeBob made it to work by 7:58. Smiling, SpongeBob sighed and wiped the back of his hand against his forehead.

"Wow, I made it!!" he yelled, happily walking into the restaruant. Once he saw Squidward, he smiled and saluted him.

"Hellooo, there, Squidward! Nice morning, isn't it?" SpongeBob asked. Squidward swallowed and hid behind his magazine.

"Uh, erm, yeah! Sure!" he said, nervously laughing. SpongeBob paused and looked at Squidward.

"Wow, Squidward! I guess you're in a good mood! That's so great," SpongeBob said, before going into the back room. He stood before the grill and slammed six krabby patties onto it. He began to whistle a happy tune as he waited for them to cook.

Squidward bit his lip as he watched SpongeBob out of the corner of his eyes.

_I can't believe he has feelings for me! How am I supposed to act like I don't know?! Gah, I just gotta calm down! _Squidward began to sweat and shake as he squeezed the magazine. He didn't have a good night's sleep, just like he suspected he wouldn't, and when he did end up falling asleep he dreampt of SpongeBob revealing his feelings for him.

It messed with Squidward's head, made him paranoid and more anxious than usual.

"Mr. Squidward!" Mr. Krabs yelled, running up to Squidward. Squidward screamed, throwing his magazine up into the air accidentally.

" Aaaaah!! Y-yes, Mr. Krabs!" Squidward stood straight, his chest moving rapidly.

"What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Mr. Krabs said.

"It's nothing, sir! Just... uh... I, um..." Squidward paused, trying to think up a lie.

"Well, just stop doing whatever you're doing! You're freaking out all the customers!" Mr. Krabs said, pointing to the tables.

"Mr. Krabs, nobody's even arrived yet!" Squidward said. Mr. Krabs looked behind himself.

"Oh... well... yeah, that's because your shakin' and sweatin' is scaring them off!" Mr. Krabs said.

"Sorry, sir. I'll stop," Squidward said. Mr. Krabs squinted at Squidward and then went back into his office. Squidward sighed and sat on the little bench inside the boat and picked up his magazine. He tried reading it but he just couldn't. All he could think about was the fact that SpongeBob liked him.

_I wonder if he's watching me. I feel so watched... _

Squidward rubbed the back of his neck. He was getting the chills, he felt like SpongeBob was staring at him.

Squidward quickly got up and turned around, peeking through the little window. SpongeBob was biting his bottom lip, pretending his spatula was a gun and things around the room were his helpless victims.

"Bam, bam, bam!" SpongeBob said, pointing his spatula at the sink.

"You have mocked me for the last time, drippy sink! You're expiration date is... woah, TODAY! Time to throw you in the metaphorical trash! Pakew! Pakew! Boooom! Booooom! Pssssshhhhh..." SpongeBob babbled on, running over to the sink. He turned the handle, shutting off the water. Squidward forgot to shut it off all the way when he splashed his face before SpongeBob got there.

SpongeBob squinted at the sink and blew at the top of his spatula.

"SherrifBob CopPants, you've done it again! You saved the world from the annoying drip of the sink!" SpongeBob yelled, his hands up in the air. SpongeBob smiled slyly, then ran back over to the stove to flip the patties. He began humming.

Squidward turned back around, squinting.

_He's just being annoying, as usual! There's nothing to worry about, here. I should relax! _

Squidward picked his magazine back up and began to read. SpongeBob seemed pretty preoccupied, he didn't think he'd have to deal with him for a while. He let himself relax and enjoyed flipping through the magazine, learning all the new dancing tips.

_Not like I need any... _Squidward thought, resting his cheek in his hand.

--

Squidward was looking at his reflection in a mirror hating how tired he looked when Mr. Krabs suddenly came out of his office, yelling.

"Mr. Squidwaaaard!!" Mr. Krabs yelled, standing in front of Squidward. Squidward held down the mirror.

"What did I do, now, Mr. Krabs?!" Squidward yelled, irritated.

"What didn't you do?! Can't you see that it's half empty in here!?" Mr. Krabs yelled. SpongeBob popped out of the back room and took a plate of food to a nice young lady.

"And how is that my fault? I just take people's orders! If its anyones fault, it's--!" Squidward yelled, getting cut off by SpongeBob.

"It's not half empty, Mr. Krabs, it's half full!" SpongeBob said, smiling. Mr. Krabs rolled his eyes at the whole 'half full' business, then turned back to Squidward.

"Your ugliness is scaring them off! Look at yourself! You look like a manatee! Nobody wants to eat at a resturaunt with a cashier that looks like a manatee!" Mr. Krabs yelled. SpongeBob was heading back to the kitchen when he heard Mr. Krabs. Gasping, he ran up to Squidward's side.

"A MANATEE?! I don't look like a manatee!" Squidward yelled, holding the mirror back up. He pushed his face up, hoping it'd stay.

"Mr. Krabs! How could you?! Squidward doesn't look like a manatee! He looks like a... um..." SpongeBob held his chin.

"He looks like a beautiful person! Right, Squiddy?" SpongeBob asked, smiling as he looked up at Squidward. Squidward twitched and began to sweat. He swallowed and pulled at his collar as Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob stared at him. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"Um... I guess I... I might look a little tired..." Squidward said, his voice shaking. He cleared his throat again.

"Heh, and I've got a cold! My throat hurts, that's why my voice is so shaky!" Squidward lied, holding his throat.

"Oh, poor Squidward! You shouldn't be working with a cold! Maybe Mr. Krabs will let you take the day off," SpongeBob looked at Mr. Krabs, hopefully. Mr. Krabs gasped.

"Never!! Have you lost your mind, boy?!" Mr. Krabs yelled. SpongeBob pressed his lips together.

"What he can do is put a bag over his head to hide his ugliness! SpongeBob, go get me a paper bag!" Mr. Krabs ordered. SpongeBob sadly walked into the kitchen and returned with a paper bag. He handed it to Mr. Krabs who put it over Squidward's head. Squidward sighed and SpongeBob's bottom lip quivered.

"How am I going to write down people's orders with a bag over my head?!" Squidward asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't know! Maybe you should have thought about that before becoming ugly!" Mr. Krabs said, heading back to his office. SpongeBob stopped him.

"Mr. Krabs, does he have to wear a bag over his head...? Can't he just put on some make-up?" SpongeBob asked, his eyes big and shiney. He didn't like how harsh Mr. Krabs was being, he felt like he was watching a horror movie.

"No! Because he's sick, too, make-up won't cover that! Now get back to work or else you're fired!"

SpongeBob swallowed and sniffed as he walked back into the kitchen, standing in front of the grill.

_Mean old Mr. Krabs! How could he do this to poor Squidward?! He must be so lonely under there! _SpongeBob tried not to cry as someone came up to Squidward and ordered a huge meal. Squidward felt around for the pad and pen, sightless.

SpongeBob's legs shook and his eyes watered at the horrible scene. It was painful to watch. He looked down at the krabby patties, covering his face with his hand. He started to cry.

_Poooor Squidwaaard!! _SpongeBob thought, sobbing.

Squidward tried writing down the order without being able to see and then felt for the window. He stuck the piece of paper in the clothespin and SpongeBob looked up, taking the paper down. The letters were squiggly and huge but SpongeBob still could see what he'd written.

"Squidward, you're such a trooper!! Writing without sight?! It's amazing!" SpongeBob yelled, tears flowing down his cheeks. He wanted to make Squidward feel better and complimenting him always worked.

SpongeBob sniffed. He went over to get a plate and placed a bun on it. He then put the patty on the bun, as well as mustard, ketchup, pickles, letuce, onions, cheese, and a tomato. He then added the customers' special topping, which happened to be mayonaise.

SpongeBob got the coral bits and a large diet pepsi, then took a tray and placed everything on it. Wiping away his tears and trying to smile, SpongeBob left the kitchen and placed the food on the customers' table.

"Here you are, sir! Enjoy!" SpongeBob exclaimed, before heading back to the kitchen. On the way there, SpongeBob saw Squidward trying to read the magazine through the paper bag. He was failing.

SpongeBob frowned and pushed passed the kitchen door, thinking of what he could do for Squidward.

--

Squidward sighed as he sat on the bench in the boat, looking at darkness. He could see some things, like his legs and feet, through the opening of the bag but that was it. He'd tried sticking the magazine up into the bag with his face, but found his arms and hands were too big and the bag would have ripped if he kept trying.

So Squidward sat and looked at nothing as he thought. There was a lot to think about, like SpongeBob's feelings for him and how he'd stuck up for him when Mr. Krabs said he looked like a manatee. Squidward felt quite honored that SpongeBob thought he was a 'beautiful person' and he tried to shake it off, he tried not to care that SpongeBob was attracted to his looks.

_Well, he should be! I am the most attractive in all of Bikini Bottom! SpongeBob's just the first to finally realise it! _Squidward thought. It made him feel better thinking that it was normal and SpongeBob was just the first to realise the fact that he was good looking.

As Squidward sat and thought, he suddenly heard SpongeBob's voice. Squidward was glad he had a bag over his head only because then he didn't have to see SpongeBob, and SpongeBob wouldn't be able to see his nervous facial expressions.

"Um, Squidward... since you've gotta wear a bag over your head, I thought that at least you might want one that's a bit more comfortable. So, I made you this," SpongeBob said, taking the paper bag off Squidward's head. Squidward looked around, hoping Mr. Krabs wouldn't find out it was off.

SpongeBob held up the new bag he'd made and Squidward took it out of SpongeBob's hands, inspecting it.

It looked like a normal bag, only there were holes for his eyes and mouth and it was colored pink and purple. It was also completely covered in glitter and sparkles and some yellow feathers were glued to the sides.

SpongeBob had his hands clasped together as he smiled toothily up at Squidward. Squidward played with the bottom of his shirt nervously before putting the bag over his head.

"Uh... thanks," he'd said. SpongeBob 'eeeed' then went back into the kitchen, smiling brightly.

_It's the thought that counts... besides, this IS a lot better. I can actually see, now! I probably look like a total fool but at least it's better than a plain and uncomfortable bag over my face. _Squidward thought, sitting back down. He picked up his magazine and began reading.

--

Work was finally over with and Squidward got to take the bag off his head. He almost threw it out but then thought that if Mr. Krabs still thought he was ugly the next day, he'd rather wear this one than a plain one, again.

So he was holding it as he and SpongeBob walked back to their homes. Squidward was slightly nervous, hoping SpongeBob wouldn't end up saying something that proved his feelings now that they were alone.

"Hey, Squidward, guess what?" SpongeBob asked, smiling. Squidward rubbed the back of his neck, nervously.

"What?" he asked, looking off in the other direction.

"Me and Sandy are friends, again! Isn't that great? We're going on a picnic!" SpongeBob said, happily. His eyes were big and he clasped his hands together beside his face.

"Oh, it's going to be so much fun! I told her why we couldn't date and she accepts it! I bet we'll be even better friends than before," SpongeBob said, smiling. Squidward scoffed.

_'Accepts it' my butt! She wouldn't have tried killin' me if she accepted it! What a two-faced imbecile! _Squidward thought, annoyed.

"Oh, and thanks for not throwing out the bag. I saw you almost throw it out but I'm glad you kept it! It took a while to make. See, I added little feathers on the side," SpongeBob said, taking the bag out of Squidward's hand and holding it up to his face to show him the feathers. Squidward took it back.

"Yeah, I know," Squidward said.

_I'm an artist, I notice every detail! I don't need him to tell me what he's done, I saw it easily on my own... _Squidward thought.

--

Finally back home, Squidward went into his home as SpongeBob walked over to his. SpongeBob looked at his watch and wondered when Sandy would get there. He opened the door to his house and before he went in, he was tapped on the back. SpongeBob thought it was Squidward but turned around finding Sandy.

"Hello, there, SpongeBob!" she said. SpongeBob's mouth hung open as he found Sandy wearing dark rep lipstick and eye shadow. Her cheeks were red with blush and she wore eye-liner. SpongeBob blinked rapidly. Seeing Sandy in so much make-up was very weird, she looked like a whole different person.

"Uh... hey, Sandy. What's with all the make-up?" SpongeBob asked, putting his hand on his head.

"Oh, I just thought I'd do myself up! I mean, most people wouldn't be able to get over what we got over! It's really a day to celebrate our friendship!" Sandy said, happily. SpongeBob put his hand to his chin.

"Hey, you're right! I'm gonna 'do myself up', too! Be right back, Sandy!" SpongeBob said. He ran into the pineapple as Sandy leaned beside the door, smiling. She heard a door open and she looked to the right, watching Squidward walking out of his house to water the plants. She squinted at Squidward as he kneeled down and inspected the plants before watering them.

_Oh, this'll be great! Squidward's gonna watch me and SpongeBob walk off together, both dressed up! Oh, he'll learn quickly that SpongeBob's gonna be with me! _

Sandy smirked.

"I feel like someone's staring at me," Squidward said, before looking around. Nobody was in Patrick's yard, so he looked behind him at SpongeBob's. He saw Sandy smirking at him, make-up all over her face. Squidward squinted at her.

_What's she all done up for? Is she trying to impress SpongeBob? Why does she think he's going to fall for her when he has feelings for ME? People don't just go from liking one person to liking another just because they're wearing make-up! _Squidward thought.

A few seconds later, SpongeBob walked out of the pineapple, holding a basket. He always wore mascara so he didn't need any of that, but he did put on blush and he was wearing a black suit. Squidward raised a brow, confused. SpongeBob said they were going on a picnic and he'd said they were going to be better 'friends' than before. Squidward wondered if he misunderstood what Sandy had said to him, and SpongeBob really didn't have feelings for him.

_Well, she wouldn't have thrown me across the street if she wasn't mad at me for a reason! I'm not misunderstanding... she thinks she can win him! She thinks that if she dresses up and takes SpongeBob places that he'll end up forgetting about me and falling for HER! What a... what a... moron! _

Squidward frowned and stood up, watching the two walk off in the other direction. Sandy had her arm over SpongeBob's shoulders and she looked back only to smirk at Squidward. Squidward clicked his tongue, feeling quite insulted.

_She thinks I'm jealous! Well... I'm not! I don't care! SpongeBob can fall in love with her all he wants! She can have him, I don't want him! He's just an annoying pest, I'm not interested! _

Squidward growled and grinded his teeth together as he walked into his house, forgetting about his plants. He slammed the door shut and walked into the kitchen, sitting down in a chair. He put his elbow on the table and rested his head on his fist.

"Stupid Sandy... she thinks SpongeBob's gonna fall for her. Well, he won't. I'm ten times better than her. What can she do? Karate-chop SpongeBob in half? All she's interested in is competition! Now, me, I'm perfect! I've got the looks, the personality..." Squidward stopped talking to himself and looked down at the table.

_I really AM jealous... but why? I don't like SpongeBob. I don't! Or... well... maybe I... _

_No! No! I don't like him, that's a fact! I'm going crazy! I need to go to sleep, I need my rest! My head's not clear, I'm thinking like a lunatic! Gaaah! _

Squidward ran up the stairs and pulled the covers down, then layed on his bed. He pulled the covers up to his neck and then shut his eyes, trying to fall asleep. He thought it was the only remedy for insanity.

--

Sandy and SpongeBob sat on the red and white checkered blanket at the Jellyfish Fields, krabby patties set out before SpongeBob. Sandy smiled, sitting close to SpongeBob. They'd sat facing the sun and it was really warm and enjoyable.

"So, SpongeBob..." Sandy began, lowering her eyelids. SpongeBob picked up his krabby patty and bit into it.

"Mhm?" he asked, his attention on the krabby patty he was eating. Sandy put her hand on SpongeBob's to get his attention. He looked at her and swallowed.

"How was your day?" she asked, politely. Or it would have been polite if she'd asked because she truely wondered instead of because she wanted SpongeBob to think she was sweet.

SpongeBob smiled.

"I had a good day, thanks for asking! I woke up a little later than usual because I accidentally fell alseep in the livingroom! Hee hee! So I quickly got ready and then I ran off to the Krusty Krab, thinking 'I hope I make it! I hope I make it! Aaah, I'm not gonna make it!', but I made it.

"Then at the Krusty Krab I made some patties, then Mr. Krabs said Squidward looked like a manatee, so I was like 'Mr. Krabs, he doesn't look like a manatee!' and then Mr. Krabs put a bag over Squidward's head because he was sick and Mr. Krabs thinks he's ugly... then I made Squidward a better bag, with colors and glitter and little feathers on the sides, and Squidward almost threw it out but he decided to keep it, after all!" SpongeBob continued, his krabby patty forgetten as he spoke to Sandy, who nodded every now and then. She smiled, pretending to be interested even though she was starting to get really bored.

" Then we left the Krusty Krab and I told him how our relationship is back to normal and then I thanked him for not throwing the bag out and I showed him the feathers on the side but he said he already knew they were there. He does have an artists' eye, after all! Theeeen... he went home and I went home, then I saw you in the make-up and stuff... and now we're here! How was your day, Sandy?" SpongeBob said. Sandy blinked, holding in a yawn.

"Oh, my day? My day was... it was good, SpongeBob! I... did stuff," Sandy said. She'd actually slept most of the day away and after putting on make-up, followed SpongeBob and Squidward home.

"Oh, really? Sounds like fun," SpongeBob said, before going back to eating his krabby patty. Sandy smiled and watched him eat before putting her arms into her suit and reaching down. She'd had a krabby patty in a fanny pack she'd put on. She took it up to her mouth and bit down on it, chewing annoyingly. She caught herself and chewed slowly, trying to act lady-like.

Once finished with the krabby patties, Sandy and SpongeBob licked their lips. SpongeBob patted his stomach.

"Mmm... that was good," SpongeBob said. He layed down on the blanket and looked up at the sky.

"Yeah. I'd eat them all day if they had no calories," Sandy said, laying back, as well. Sandy turned toward SpongeBob, resting her air bubble on her hand.

"So, what would you like to do, tomorrow? I was thinking we could go out to eat, somewhere... like a restaruant," Sandy said. SpongeBob copied Sandy's position.

"Well, sure! I have a day off, tomorrow, we could go eat at the Krusty Krab! That way I can see Squi--! Uh... Well, it'll just be easier. Plus, you can never have too many krabby patties!" SpongeBob said, sitting up.

Sandy lost her smile.

_'That way I can see Squi--'... I ain't stupid, I know what you were gonna say! _Sandy said, in her mind. She sat up as well.

"Yeah... krabby patties are great, SpongeBob..." Sandy said.

_Well, at least if we go to the Krusty Krab I'll get to make Squidward jealous. Stupid Squidward... he's known SpongeBob has feelings for him all this time and he's never even done anything about it! If I knew SpongeBob had feelings for me, we'd be dating in a heart-beat! _

_He'll be so jealous, watching me and SpongeBob eating out together. He'll have to watch SpongeBob slowly fall in love with me as he quickly forgets about him. SpongeBob's only going to think about me, me, me!_

Sandy smiled and rested her hand on SpongeBob's. SpongeBob smiled, glad their relationship was back to normal.

_I knew things were going to be better than before! _he thought.

* * *

**Review. **

**:B 8L ( A man holding a saw. )**


	6. Chapter 6

**It took a bit longer for me to update. I'm writing a lot of stories, at the moment, that's why. Enjoy reading. **

**Edit: I re-read this chapter and I noticed some mistakes. You don't have to read it, again, the changes are simple. Just some longer/shorter paragraphs. **

* * *

Chapter 6

Squidward woke up that morning to the sound of SpongeBob's alarm clock. His house shook as his eyes whipped open and he stared at the shaking ceiling in alarm. He wondered if he'd have a heart-attack one morning after being shocked out of his sleep by SpongeBob's horn-clock.

Once it finally stopped sounding, Squidward heard SpongeBob's annoying voice.

"Oh, yay! It's morning time, Gary! I better get ready for the day!" SpongeBob exclaimed. Squidward sighed and sat up in his bed. Just as he sat up, his own alarm clock went off. He shut it off and then got out of bed.

_Why do I even have an alarm clock when SpongeBob's wakes me up every morning? _Squidward thought, rubbing his tired eyes. He didn't feel the need to stretch, he felt just like he had before he went to sleep. He didn't get a good sleep at all. He kept twisting and turning, coming in and out of sleep. When he shut his eyes, two minutes later they'd open and his mind would be full of SpongeBob, SpongeBob, SpongeBob. It was driving him nuts. Sleep was something his mind (and body) desperately needed.

Squidward sighed as he slowly walked into his bathroom. He removed his pajama hat and shirt, then turned the shower on. He waited until it was warm and then stepped into the tub.

_I wonder how the picnic went. That stupid air-breather was probably all over SpongeBob, trying to get him to fall for her. I knew she was insane but I didn't think she was also stupid! Isn't she supposed to be a scientist or something?! She should know that SpongeBob's not going to like her just because she wants him to. _

Squidward poured some soap into his hands and then massaged his aching head.

_SpongeBob likes me, not her. And she knows that... she thinks she can win him. _

_I shouldn't care! Why do I care so much? I don't! In fact, I'll easily be able to keep my mind off this topic for the rest of the day, no problem! I mean... why think about stupid old SPONGEBOB when I can think about ME?! _

Squidward began humming, trying to lighten himself up as he thought about how good he was at playing the clarinet and how beautiful every peice of art he made was. He smiled and put his head under the water, washing off the bubbles.

Squidward rubbed his eyes and then opened them. He turned around to grab the soap bar and instead of seeing what he was expecting, he found big bright blue eyes in his face. He screamed on the top of his lungs and jumped a mile, clutching at his chest with all his might.

"SPONGEBOB!!" Squidward yelled, grabbing a pile of bubbles and putting them between his legs to hide his nakedness.

_What is he doing in my bath tub? Dear Neptune, he does this because he's got feelings for me?! What's going through that sick head of his?! _Squidward thought, his chest moving rapidly as he tried to catch his breath.

"Oh, sorry to frighten ya, buddy! I just wanted to see you before heading off to Sandy's," SpongeBob said, turning around and grabbing the bar of soap.

"I think you wanted this," SpongeBob said, handing the bar to Squidward who's pupils were so small they were almost invisible. Squidward swallowed and took the bar of soap into his hand, quickly.

"SpongeBob...?" Squidward asked slowly as he looked down on the sponge with a nervous smile. Usually he'd get mad and kick SpongeBob out of his bath tub, but knowing that he has feelings for him and came into his bath tub was a whole different story. He'd always wondered why SpongeBob would end up in the shower with him and usually he just told himself it was because he was annoying. Knowing SpongeBob had feelings for him and that was the reason he'd come into the shower with him was quite frightening.

"Yuh-huh?" SpongeBob asked, mistaking the nervous smile for an innocent, happy one.

"Well, um... why are you in my tub?" Squidward asked, his eyes wide. SpongeBob fiddled with his tie.

"Um... well, it's my day off so I won't be able to see you in a couple of hours. I just wanted to say hello before you go to work," SpongeBob explained.

"What do you MEAN 'a couple of hours'? Don't tell me you're planning on coming to the Krusty Krab on your day off!" Squidward said, terrified, as his bit on the end of his hands. He really didn't want to have to deal with SpongeBob, today. His mind was so tired of the topic.

"It's true, Squiddy!" SpongeBob said, thinking Squidward meant 'don't tell me' in a good way. He put his arm around Squidward, who screamed.

"Me and Sandy are gonna stop by to have some krabby patties in a couple of hours! You see, she told me she wanted to go out to eat and I told her we should go to the Krusty Krab so I could see you on my day off!" SpongeBob said, smiling wide. Squidward pushed SpongeBob so he was on the other side of the tub.

_Sandy's such an idiot! _Squidward thought, grinding his teeth. He shut his eyes tightly and held onto his head.

"SpongeBob, she's only asking you to go out to eat with her because she thinks that if she spends a lot of time with you, you'll fall in love with her! You truely are dense if you didn't know that!" Squidward yelled.

_Why did I just admit to knowing that? _Squidward thought, confusion softening his expression. He didn't want to know why he'd told SpongeBob that information and he wished that he could take back what he'd said right away.

"Oh, Squidward, you silly clam! Sandy knows that I don't like her, she was perfectly okay with it! She's accepted it! I don't think she's trying to get me to fall in love with her," SpongeBob said, laughing at Squidward's strange thoughts. _Squidward has quite the imagination!_

"Y-yeah... you're right. I don't know what I was thinking. Heeh, heeh..." Squidward fake-laughed while he stroked his arm. SpongeBob stood still and stared at Squidward, smiling. A few moments later, SpongeBob jumped up randomly (scaring Squidward with his sudden movement) and said his good-byes.

"Well, see you later, Squidward! I've gotta get to Sandy's house!" SpongeBob left the bath tub and started climbing out of the bath room window. Squidward watched as SpongeBob turned around and wiggled his fingers at him before dropping down to the ground below.

_What just happened? Why did I tell SpongeBob of Sandy's intentions? Is it because... dare I say it... I really am jealous? Did I tell SpongeBob what Sandy's planning because I want them to stop spending time together? Do I subconciously have the same feelings for SpongeBob that SpongeBob has for me? _

_No! Of course I don't! Urrg! I wish I wasn't thinking like this! I'm thinking like a mad man! A MAD MAN!! I need to have a good night's sleep soon or else I'm going to go permanently insane! SpongeBob, you dolt, this is all your fault!_

Squidward was shaking while he shut the water off. He ran his hand down his face and stepped out of the tub, grabbing a towel off the rack. He dried himself off and looked in the mirror.

"Oh, I look horrible! I need my beauty rest and I'm not going to get any of that with SPONGEBOB on my mind, 24/7!" Squidward sighed and fell to the floor.

" I hope all this passes soon. I can't take it anymore!" Squidward yelled, twitching.

--

Squidward made it to the Krusty Krab one minute late.

"Squidward, you're one minute late! What is the meaning of this?!" Mr. Krabs yelled the second he walked through the door. Squidward glared at his boss.

"It's only one measly minute, Mr. Krabs! Nobody's even here, yet!" Squidward yelled as he walked over to the boat.

"One measly minute?! Squidward, it only takes a minute to come through the doors and order a krabby patty! What if someone was going to come in and then saw that the chasier wasn't here yet and then left?! We would've lost money! And losing money is worse than losing a child!" Mr. Krabs yelled.

"Nobody even thought about coming here, yet, except SpongeBob! It's only been open for one minute! It'll at least take fifteen minutes for anyone to get here! It always does!" Squidward said, crossing his arms over his chest. Mr. Krabs squinted at Squidward.

"I don't like your tone! Drop it or you're fired! And where's that paper bag I gave you?! Put it on, you look even worse today than you did yesterday!" Mr. Krabs yelled, his hands on his hips. Squidward's left eye twitched.

"I don't know where the bag is," Squidward said, monotonously.

"Well, it cost me a lot of money! Give me five dollars and I might just give you a new paper bag to put over your head instead of firing you," Mr. Krabs said, holding his claw out. Squidward reached into his pocket and gave Mr. Krabs the money. Mr. Krabs smelled it, stared at it, licked it, tugged on it. It was real.

Mr. Krabs gave Squidward another paper bag and Squidward put it over his head, wishing he hadn't left the one SpongeBob gave him at home. Although, he wasn't surprised that he forgot it. His thinking was quite deranged this morning.

Squidward sighed and sat down on the bench.

"No sitting!" Mr. Krabs yelled before going into his office. Squidward quickly stood back up.

--

Squidward didn't know what time it was. He was hungry, tired, sore, confused, and irritated. There had been seven customers so far, all asking for krabby patties which Squidward had to make with a bag over his head. He wished very much that today wasn't SpongeBob's day off just because doing that without sight was quite hard.

He ruined most of the krabby patties because he couldn't see if they were done cooking or not. Some were burned, some were undercooked. Mr. Krabs noticed the complaints and came out of his office, running into the kitchen to yell at Squidward.

"What do you call this?!" Mr. Krabs yelled, holding up a deformed krabby patty.

"I don't know what to call it because I can't SEE IT!!" Squidward yelled, clenching his fists.

"Oh, look at me! I'm poor, poor Squidward! I can't see because mean old Mr. Krabs put a bag over me head! Boo hoo hoo!" Mr. Krabs mocked.

Squidward began to sweat out his anger.

"Just put some holes in the bag!" Mr. Krabs yelled.

"Oh, you mean you won't yell at me for that?! Are you sure the sound of the bag ripping won't scare off the customers?!" Squidward yelled, putthing his hands on his hips. Mr. Krabs squinted at his employee.

"Quit your back-talkin' and do as I say, Mr. Squidward!" Mr. Krabs yelled before leaving the kitchen.

_Why must he be so difficult?! _Mr. Krabs thought before going back into his office.

Squidward ripped two holes in the bag where his eyes would be. They were uneven and he couldn't see perfectly well like he could with SpongeBob's bag, but it did help some. He went out of the kitchen and stood back at the cash register to read another magazine as he waited for more orders.

_This is the worst day of my life! _Squidward thought, his eyes moving over the words in the magazine. He wasn't really reading it, he was thinking too much to be able to read.

"Dahahahaha! That really is funny, Sandy! One time, my uncle slipped on sea weed and he slammed his head on a rock! Ever since, every day at the same time he fell on that rock, he screams 'NO! THE ROCK! THE ROCK!!"

Squidward gasped and peeked over the top of his magazine once he'd heard SpongeBob. He found the sponge dressed up in yesterday's picnic outfit while Sandy again had her face all done up. She was smiling down at SpongeBob while SpongeBob was smiling up at her and going on and on and on about his uncle.

Squidward squinted as the two came up to the cash register. SpongeBob stopped talking right away once he'd seen Squidward.

"Squidward!! How's work? Are you doing okay? Are you feeling well? Hey, it looks kinda... empty in here..." SpongeBob said, his hand to his chin. Squidward _hmphed. _

"I'm doing just fine, thank you very much! Just tell me what you'd--" Squidward began.

"Another bag, huh? Why don't you just put the one I gave you on?" SpongeBob asked.

"I forgot it at home. Now just tell me what you--" Squidward was cut off, again.

"You left it at home?! Well, I can go get it for you! I'm sure Sandy won't mind!"

Sandy's mouth hung open in shock and anger.

_SpongeBob?! I'm right here, you nitwit! Don't act as if I don't even exist!! _she thought, clenching her fists. Squidward couldn't help but laugh.

_Huh, huh! She tries getting me jealous? Well, now it's payback time! _Squidward thought.

"Well, I'll be right back, you two! Make small talk!" SpongeBob said before running out of the Krusty Krab.

Squidward looked at Sandy through the bag and then sniffed. Sandy squinted and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You call that a pretty face?" asked Squidward, referring to Sandy's done-up face.

"You call that a face at all?" Sandy asked, referring to Squidward's.

They continued giving eachother bad looks until SpongeBob returned with the colorful bag.

"I got it, Squidward! I found it on the table!" SpongeBob said as he ran up to Squidward. He held the bag out for Squidward. Squidward took the brown bag off and replaced it with the colorful one.

"Okay, will you tell me what'd you like to order, now?" Squidward asked, holding a pen and pad out in front of him.

"A krabby patty! No! Two krabby patties! And a coke, please!" SpongeBob ordered, smiling. Squidward wrote down his order and then waited for Sandy's.

"And what would YOU like?" Squidward asked, glaring at Sandy. Sandy growled.

"Oh, let's see... wait... YOU'RE not going to be cooking, are you?" Sandy asked. Squidward gasped.

"Yes, I am! And you should feel honored!" Squidward said. Sandy stuck her tongue out, pretending to be disgusted.

"Eeww... I don't want anythin' YOU'RE cookin'! I'd prolly die the second it hit my stomach!"

"What?! Are you mad?! I'm a fine cook! Look at all those happy customers!" Squidward yelled, pointing at the customers. They were screaming in pain, one of them saying 'my leg!'. Sandy smirked and Squidward growled.

"Why, you--!" Squidward began, hands in front of himself as if he were going to push her over. Sandy went into karate-mode, holding her hands out in front of her as if she were about to chop Squidward's head off.

" Guys, guys! Calm down, there's no need to fight!" SpongeBob yelled, standing between the two of them with his hands out. He didn't like when his friends fought.

"Sandy, Squidward is a good cook! Squidward, Sandy has a sensitive stomach so please try your hardest when making her krabby patty!" SpongeBob said, looking at his friends. Both cooled down slowly.

"All better?" SpongeBob asked, lips puckered as if he were talking to two young children. Sandy and Squidward said nothing, only crossed their arms over their chests and turned the other way, _hmphing._

"Okay... Squidward, Sandy would like a krabby patty and... a diet... coke? Am I right?" SpongeBob asked his female friend. Sandy smiled and shook her head up and down.

"That's right, SpongeBob! You, uh... you sure know me well! It's almost as if we've been together forever!" Sandy said, her intent: to irritate Squidward. It worked.

"Yeah, forever, pfft..." Squidward rolled his eyes and then went into the kitchen to make the patties and get the drinks for his customers.

_Stupid Sandy... What's she giving me attitude for? She needs to get a grip!_

Squidward frowned as he slapped three patties onto the grill. He decided that SpongeBob's patties were the ones on the left and Sandy's patty was the one on the right. As they cooked, Squidward peeked through the little window and watched Sandy and SpongeBob talk to one another. He couldn't hear anything but he saw Sandy and SpongeBob laughing merrily. Squidward grunted and stopped watching the two. They were really getting on his nerves, Sandy especially.

_I can just imagine what they're talking about... Sandy's probably goin' on about how great she thinks he is. She's putting her moves on him, trying to steal him from me! Waaah! Steal him from me?! Where'd that come from?! Neptune, I'm sick in the head!_

Squidward shook his head back and forth. He pulled on the collar of his shirt and put his mind on other things. He wondered why he hadn't been painting lately and so he decided once he got home, he'd make the greatest picture in all of history. He wondered what it'd look like.

_Okay... it'll have me in it. And... I'll be holding the sun in my hands. That'll stand for how god-like I am. How beautiful and powerful I am. Then... bowing at my feet will be SpongeBob and Sandy and all the rest of Bikini Bottom! That'll stand for how weak and pathetic everyone else is! _

_Oh, hooo! It's gonna be so beautiful... _

Squidward smiled, smugly, and he flipped the patties. He ignored the little voice in the back of his mind that kept begging him to see what Sandy and SpongeBob were doing. The voice got louder and louder and Squidward became more and more jittery. He grinded his teeth together, nervously, and then peeked through the little window. He couldn't help himself, he was clearly becoming obsessed. He was clearly going INSANE.

He saw that Sandy had her arm around SpongeBob's shoulders and SpongeBob was smiling brightly, looking at the squirrel. Squidward wondered if Sandy would succeed in getting SpongeBob to fall in love with her. He seemed to really like spending time with her. As much as Squidward hated to admit it, he knew _he _wanted to be the object of SpongeBob's affections.

_Listen to me... I'm going crazy. I'm jealous of Sandy because SpongeBob likes spending time with her? It's absurd! Maybe I really DO like SpongeBob. No! I can't! That'd be the death of me! I don't like him... I can prove it! _

_But how do I do that? I could spend the day with him... Or maybe I could invite him over for a movie... Yeah, that's what I'll do! By tomorrow morning, I'll have proof that I don't like SpongeBob! But... what if I do? What'll I do, then? Repress it?_

_... Sounds good to me..._

Squidward sighed, flipping the patties again and as he flipped Sandy's, he got an idea. He bit his lip, looked to the left and the right, and then smirked.

_Sandy... that loser. She thinks she can treat me this way without payback? Ha!! She doesn't deserve to have a taste of my fabulous cooking! Hahaha!! _

Squidward lifted the bag over his mouth and pretended he had to sneeze, holding his nose.

"Ah-chooo!!"

Squidward made sure he got spit all over Sandy's patty as he fake sneezed. He laughed a few times, putting his hand to his mouth. Even if Mr. Krabs had cameras in that room, he wouldn't have suspected anything. Squidward wrung his hands together, maliciously. He was such an evil, evil man.

A few minutes later, Squidward came out of the kitchen holding two trays with krabby patties on each of them. He set the first tray down in front of SpongeBob and the second one in front of Sandy, who glared at him. Squidward smirked.

"Thanks Squidward! I bet it's gonna taste great! Right, Sandy?" SpongeBob nudged Sandy a few times and winked. Sandy rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I bet," she said, sarcastically. Luckily, SpongeBob often didn't catch sarcasm and he smiled happily before gnawing on a krabby patty.

Squidward bit his lip and walked over to the cash register. He watched Sandy as if she were his prey. She took her helmet off, stuffed the krabby patty in her mouth, and then put the helmet back on. It was filled with water, so she flushed it all out. As she was chewing, she thought the krabby patty tasted unusually moist and gooey and then she decided it must have been because it was in the water before she ate it.

_Or maybe it's just because it was made by the slimiest creature in the sea! _She thought.

Squidward's pupils were dilated and his face was pale. The evil he had done was so freeing, it made him feel so alive! He squeezed the end of his shirt and pulled on it, letting out some energy.

_Take THAT you air-breather! TAKE THAT!! _Squidward thought, laughing maniacally.

--

Once SpongeBob and Sandy were finished eating, they stood up from the chairs, leaving their trays on the table with dirty napkins upon them. SpongeBob patted his stomach, eyes half-lidded as he licked his lips.

"Mm, mmm! Squidward's such a good cook!" SpongeBob said, looking ahead of himself without seeing.

"It wasn't _that_ great..." Sandy said, rolling her eyes. SpongeBob shrugged and then turned towards Squidward who was peeking over his magazine, watching the two converse.

"Thanks for the krabby patties, Squidward! See you later!" SpongeBob yelped, waving. Squidward grinded his teeth together, looking to the left, and then stood up from the seat in the boat.

"Wait! SpongeBob!" Squidward yelled, sounding desperate. Sandy raised a brow as SpongeBob smiled and ran over to a nervous looking Squidward. Squidward fiddled with his hands.

"Yeah, Squiddy?" asked SpongeBob, his eyes curious. Squidward cleared his throat and sniffed, rubbed his forehead and shut his eyes. He licked his lips, opened his eyes, and then looked down at SpongeBob's shoes.

"Um... well... I was just wondering if you'd... um... well... come over my house?" Squidward heard SpongeBob gasp, holding the sides of his head. Squidward began to panic.

"I know that might sound strange coming from me but I just!... it's, um... my calendar! On my calendar it says that I have to watch a movie with my neighbor! For, uh... good luck. And... well... I know Patrick is busy and all, so I guess it's going to have to be you, huh!" Squidward blinked rapidly, raising his eyes to look into SpongeBob's. SpongeBob's pupils were so large, they'd almost filled up the entire blue.

"Squi... Squidwar... _Squidward... You _want _me _to come over _your house...?" _SpongeBob asked, immobile. Squidward began laughing maniacally, he couldn't stop himself. Tears streamed down his face and his eyes were shut tight. He laughed so hard, he could feel his ribs squashing his innards. Trying to breathe, Squidward held his chest and shut his eyes. Once he'd opened them, he found SpongeBob looking at him, confused.

"You... okay, Squid?" SpongeBob asked, a brow raised.

"Y-yeah... I just think it was funny that you thought I _wanted _you to come over my house! Hahahaha! My, my, SpongeBob, you never learn, do you?! I don't _want _you to come over, I'm just doing it for the good luck! Don't you see? I'm just being selfish! I don't want you to come over... pfft! Why would I want _you _to come over _my _house?!" Squidward again began laughing, holding his head in his hands. SpongeBob bit his bottom lip, then scratched the top of his head.

"Oh... well... okay. Whether you want me to come over or not, I still bet it's going to be great! What are we gonna do, buddy?" SpongeBob asked, putting his arm around Squidward's shoulders. Squidward swallowed, his breath catching in his throat.

"Heh, heh, heh... I was thinking we could, um... watch a movie..." Squidward said, his voice quiet. SpongeBob smiled.

"A movie?! Sounds great! Which one is it gonna be?! Oh, no, don't tell me! I want it to be a surprise!!" SpongeBob yelped, his eyes sparkling.

"... I, uh, haven't actually picked a movie. How about you take care of that? I'll..." Squidward paused, thinking.

"You can get the popcorn and hot cocoa!"

"Y-yeah... okay... I think I can manage..." Squidward said, slowly getting used to the way SpongeBob clung to him.

"Good! I can't wait! When will I be coming over? Seven, eight, nine?" SpongeBob paused and leaned closer to Squidward.

"Ten...?" he asked, quietly, as if worrying others might hear him. Squidward twitched, his mind flipping through all the reasons as to why coming over his house at ten o'clock would be a bad thing for others to know about. His mind didn't go to a good place so he quickly pushed SpongeBob off him and made sure he forgot what had just entered his mind.

"No! Not ten! How about... yeah, seven! Seven's good!" Squidward yelped. SpongeBob smiled, waving to Squidward.

"Okay! Seven it is, then! See you later, Squidward!" SpongeBob cried before running back over to an irritated Sandy. Squidward began to wave then quickly stopped himself. He shook his head back and forth.

_Now I'm waving to him? I'm mentally deranged... _

--

Sandy and SpongeBob walked out of the Krusty Krab. SpongeBob was smiling brightly, going over in his head everything that might happen at Squidward's house. He sighed, dreamily.

_Oh, this is going to be so great! Me and Squidward ALONE, in his HOUSE, AT NIGHT, watching a MOVIE, while eating POPCORN, and drinking HOT COCOA! We would sit on the couch together, watching whatever movie I pick, and then Squidward would tell me how great it is to be with me! Then I'd tell him that I love spending time with him, as well, and then we'd hug for the rest of the night! _

SpongeBob began fiddling with his thumbs, a huge smile on his face as he thought about the great night ahead of him.

"What were you and Squidward talking about?" SpongeBob suddenly heard, which snapped him out of his reverie. Eyes wide, SpongeBob turned to Sandy and noticed she was glaring at him. Clearing his throat, SpongeBob flattened out his tie and shut his eyes.

"Well, _Sandy, _if you must know... Squidward asked me if I'd watch a movie with him..." SpongeBob said, arms crossed over his chest. Sandy clicked her tongue.

"What?! Why'd he ask you to watch a movie with him?! He doesn't even like you!" Sandy said, angrily. SpongeBob eyes widened.

"He does so like me! He just... has a hard time opening up to people..." SpongeBob said. Sandy felt a tad bit guilty. She imagined that it must have been hard for SpongeBob to have a crush on someone that didn't like them... she was going through the same issue. Clearing her throat, she put her hand on SpongeBob's back.

"Uh... look, I apologise for saying that, SpongeBob. I guess you're right..." Sandy said, upset. SpongeBob's irritated expression slowly turned into a smile.

"It's alright. I forgive you. Not everybody understands Squidward the way I do!" SpongeBob said, hand to his chest. Sandy sighed and looked in the other direction.

_He still has feelings for Squidward... I'm not trying hard enough! I've got to try harder... maybe a kiss on the cheek here and there, an invitation to the treedome... I hope all my trying is going to be worth it..._

Sandy looked down at SpongeBob and then held his hand. He gasped and flinched, looking at their hands. He then smiled and held back, glad that he had a friend as good as she was.

* * *

**Any thoughts? Good or bad, please review. **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

After leaving the Krusty Krab, Sandy and SpongeBob decided to go to the beach. SpongeBob excitedly yelped and then said, "Great! This time we can both bring our surf boards so we don't have to wait for eachother!". Sandy shook her head back and forth and explained that she didn't want to compete, she simply wanted to go for a walk. At that idea, SpongeBob paused, hand to his chin. Then, his eyes lit up and he smiled.

"Great idea!" he had said.

There they were now, walking so their feet hit the Goo Lagoon's water but everything else stayed 'dry'.

"Hey, SpongeBob, how come we've never watched a movie together?" Sandy asked, a brow raised. SpongeBob thought, then shrugged.

" I don't know. We usually just end up doing karate or working out... I've never really thought about doing anything... _calm_," SpongeBob answered.

"Oh, uh... Well... maybe we should do calm stuff, sometimes. Maybe we could go for walks, more often, like we are now. Or maybe me and you could watch a movie over at my place..." Sandy said, looking down at the sponge.

"Yeah! We could go for a walk in the park! That'd be fun! We can watch the clams sing to eachother! Me and Patrick do that, sometimes. Maybe he can join us! We could all go for a walk, together!" SpongeBob was getting excited, a happy look on his face as he imagined the three of them enjoying the beauty of the park. He imagined Patrick pointing at the singing clams in the coral trees and then SpongeBob would gasp and Sandy would start laughing when one clam bit the other. Then they'd all play tag.

"Uuhh... err... Well, I don't think Patrick would want to come. He's, uh... he's... well, I just don't think he'd want to come," Sandy stuttered. She wanted to be alone with SpongeBob, they needed to have a lot of alone time for her plan to work out.

"Oh, of course he'll want to come! He always likes coming to the park!" SpongeBob exclaimed, flapping his hand in her direction. Sandy sighed, loudly.

"SpongeBob, just trust me on this! He doesn't want to come! He'll be too busy... sleeping! You should be a good friend and leave him alone, for once!" Sandy yelled, looking down at SpongeBob, disappointed. SpongeBob's brows raised, his eyes wide and sad. He never had thought that Patrick _didn't _want to be with him. He never thought that he was a bad friend.

"You... you think I'm a bad friend?" SpongeBob asked, his big eyes starting to water. He blinked and bit his bottom lip, trying to hold in his tears.

Sandy's eyes widened. She wasn't expecting SpongeBob to take what she said so seriously, she simply wanted him to rethink taking Patrick. She swallowed, then looked away from SpongeBob.

"No! I... I think you're a good friend, I just... I think that... we should go alone. I wanna... be alone with you... I don't want Patrick to come with us..." Sandy confessed, shyly, crossing her arms over her chest. SpongeBob rubbed his wet eyes with the back of his arm until they were dry. He then looked at Sandy, who was avoiding his gaze. He sniffed.

"All you had to do was say so, Sandy. You're my friend, I would have understood..." SpongeBob said, looking down at the sand. He began wondering if Sandy might still have had feelings for him, like Squidward thought she did. He hoped she didn't.

Sandy turned back toward SpongeBob, sadly. She sighed, looking down at the sand, as well.

"I should have known that you'd understand. I'm sorry that I said you weren't a good friend," Sandy said. SpongeBob smiled.

"It's okay. At least you didn't mean it..." SpongeBob paused, losing his smile.

"You didn't mean it, right?" he asked, playing with his thumbs. Sandy shook her head back and forth.

"Naw! You're the best friend anyone could have!" she said, truthfully. She took SpongeBob into her arms and swished him back and forth as she hugged him. SpongeBob's eyes were wide, he hadn't expected the hug. When she put him back down, he smiled.

"You're a great friend, too, Sandy!" he said. Sandy smiled.

--

It was six o'clock when Squidward finally got out of work. He didn't bother saying good-bye to Mr. Krabs, the crab had been horribly rude this week. He didn't deserve any good-byes. Squidward walked over to the hat rack, taking the paper bag off his head as he did so. He took his work-hat off and placed it on the hat rack, then folded the paper bag in half and slid it under his arm. He left the Krusty Krab, inhaling the night air. It smelled and tasted horrible, like trash and hotdogs, and he ended up choking. He should have learned not to inhale deeply after work.

Sighing, Squidward began making his way home.

_Only an hour to get ready for the night with SpongeBob. I hope this ends up going well... oh, it will. Why am I so worried? I know someone as great as me couldn't possibly have feelings for someone as stupid as SpongeBob! It's just not right! _

Squidward shook his head back and forth.

_What was I supposed to make? Popcorn and hot cocoa? Gah... popcorn always gets stuck in my teeth. And it's so fattening! What's SpongeBob tryna do, kill me?! And he also wants hot cocoa?! Sugar and SpongeBob, in my house! That'll be greeaaat! _

Squidward groaned, looking up at the dark sky. The clouds were an incredible color, tonight. Such great purples and pinks. Squidward thought that maybe before SpongeBob got to his house, he could paint a picture of the clouds. He could paint the other picture, the one of him holding the sun, later. Maybe drawing something peaceful would relax him.

Squidward finally made it to his home. He opened the door, walked in, and shut it behind him. He looked at the clock and noticed it was six fifteen. He sighed.

_Only 45 minutes... _he thought. He put the paper bag on the table and then made his way upstairs. He could make the popcorn and hot cocoa once SpongeBob got there. The horrible little bugger wouldn't mind.

Squidward opened the door to his gallery, then shut it behind him. He stepped inside, looking around the room at the pictures on the walls. There was one picture of him seemingly kissing an invisible something in his hands. There was another that looked as if his face was going to explode. There was also one that seemed as if he were frozen to death. Squidward smiled, admiring his genius artwork.

Squidward walked over to the corner of the room, picking up a chair. He placed the chair right in front of the window and sat in it, seeing if the view was good. It was good enough. He stood up from the chair and found a fresh canvas and some paint and a paint brush. He sat down in the chair and put the paint on the floor beside him, then rested the canvas on his lap while looking outside. He stretched his back and rolled his neck, then cracked his 'knuckles' before softly pressing the brush to the canvas. He tried not to think about SpongeBob.

--

"Well, I'd better get to Squid's house!" SpongeBob suddenly exclaimed, as he and Sandy were building sand castles. Sandy sat up straight, sand falling from her gloves.

"Huh?! Already?!" she yelled, her brows lowered. SpongeBob took the watch back out of his pocket and gave it to Sandy. She looked at it. It was 6:30.

"Oh... well... alright, then. I'll, uh... I'll walk ya home!" Sandy said, nervously. She and SpongeBob stood up from the sand.

"Okay! Are you sure you won't mind walking all the way back home in the dark... alone?" SpongeBob asked. Sandy chuckled.

"C'mon, SpongeBob! You should know by now that I ain't scared o' nothin'! Why, I could walk all the way to the other side of the world in the dark if I had to, and I wouldn't be scared!" Sandy bragged, knuckles on her hips as she smiled, smugly. SpongeBob raised a brow, then shrugged.

"Okay! ... Come on, let's get going! I don't wanna be late! Which movie do you think I should pick?" SpongeBob asked as they started walking off the beach. Sandy put her hand to her chin, looking down at the ground.

"Uuuh... you should probably watch something... full of action. And explosions. And... blood..." Sandy said.

_I can't have SpongeBob choosing a romantic movie! Who knows what that'd cause?! It'd be best if they watched something horrible and disgusting! _

"Ew! Blood...? I don't wanna watch a movie with blood in it! Especially at night... last time I watched a horror movie at night, I couldn't fall asleep! Although, if Squidward's gonna be there I probably won't be as scared..." SpongeBob said.

Sandy groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, wait, but then once I get back home, I'll be alone again... well, Gary will be there, but he's too small to fight off any bad guys! I should pick a nice movie..." SpongeBob decided, a smile on his face. Sandy internally sighed.

"Oh, alright!" she said, upset.

They were quiet until they made it to SpongeBob's house. He walked over to the door, then turned around, a smile on his face.

"Thanks for walking me home, Sandy," he said. Sandy smiled.

"No problem, SpongeBob!" she said, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"And thanks for spending the day with me... again. It's a lot of fun! We should do it more often," the sponge said.

"We will! Remember? We can go to the park tomorrow!" Sandy said.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot! It'll be a blast! But... after that, I think I should spend some time with Patrick... I've sorta been ignoring him, lately. Would that be okay?" SpongeBob asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Of course! I ain't no friend hogger!" Sandy said, smiling, even though she really would have liked to spend the whole day with SpongeBob, again. In fact, she would have liked to spend the rest of her life with SpongeBob.

"Thanks! I'll see you later, then!" SpongeBob said, waving. He turned around and opened the door to the pineapple and stepped inside his house. He noticed Sandy was still there before he shut the door. He paused, mouth in an 'o' shape, then smiled and waved again.

"Uh... bye Sandy," he said, wondering why she was still staring at him. She smiled and waved, then turned around and started walking. SpongeBob shrugged then shut the door.

"Hmm... what movie, what movie?" SpongeBob asked himself, walking further into his house and over to the movie self.

--

Squidward wasn't finished, yet, but after looking at the clock on the wall for the hundredth time, he decided he could finish his painting later. It was 6:56pm. Squidward looked at the painting one last time before setting it on the floor. It was only half finished but it did look beautiful. The clouds would have moved once he got back but it didn't bother him since he'd already did the whole sky. He just needed to add the mountains in the background, the sand, and the simply coral tree or rock here and there. Those would still be there when he got back, at least.

Squidward stood up from the chair, stretching again. He sighed, his eyes suddenly going wide as he allowed himself to wonder about the night. Before, he had been purposely keeping his mind off that topic but now he had to prepare himself. Squidward swallowed and he started feeling hot.

_This is not going to be fun. Oh no... what do I do? SpongeBob's gonna pick a movie... I'll make his stupid popcorn and hot cocoa... we'll watch the movie in silence... and then he'll leave. Simple. And by the end of the night, I'll finally have proof that I don't like SpongeBob... At least I hope I will... _

Squidward tugged at his collar, it felt much too tight against his throat. He then inhaled deeply through his nose and exhaled slowly from his mouth. He stood up straight, brushed his hands against his shirt a few times, and then steadily walked over to the door of the room. He opened it and stepped out, then began making his way down the stairs.

Once down the stairs, Squidward walked into the kitchen and opened the cabinets, looking for popcorn. He finally found a package and then took a bag out, placing it in the microwave. He waited, staring at the popcorn bag inflate. He sniffed and rubbed his nose, waiting for the horrible sound that he knew he'd hear any second now. Indeed, two seconds later, Squidward heard two knocks coming from his door. He then heard, "Squiiiiidwaaard!! It's me, SpongeBob! I've got the movie! Squiddy?! Squidward!" followed by more knocks. Squidward grinded his teeth.

_SpongeBob hasn't even entered my house yet and he's already irritating me to death! _thought Squidward, walking over to the house's door. He gripped the knob, then shut his eyes as he mentally prepared himself.

_You can do this..._

"Hey, Squidward! Let me in!"

_It's only one night... after this night, I don't have to ever invite him over again..._

"Hey! It's SpongeBob! Remember?!"

_Okay... open the door. Open the door... Here I go!_

Squidward flung the door open, his eyes wide as he looked down at SpongeBob who was holding an awful lot of supplies.

"Squidward, you invited me ove--! Oh, hello, Squidward!" SpongeBob smiled deeply, his cheeks rosey red. He held in one hand a movie and comic books, under one arm a sleeping bag, under the other arm was a pillow, balancing on his head was a box of candy, and in his other hand were flowers. SpongeBob continued to smile, standing still as Squidward inspected his neighbor. SpongeBob blinked.

"What's with the sleeping bag? You're not spending the night, you know, we're just watching a movie," were Squidward's first words to the sponge.

"Oh! I... I know! I just... wanted to take it..." SpongeBob said, looking guilty.

"Okaaay..." Squidward said, brow raised.

"Can I come in?" SpongeBob asked to change the subject. Squidward bit his lip, then opened his door wider so SpongeBob could walk past him. He watched SpongeBob make his way into his house, the box of candy on his head surprisingly staying there. SpongeBob went past the kitchen and into the living room, placing all his items on the floor between the television and the blue couch.

SpongeBob smiled as he fixed his sleeping bag onto the left side of the couch, where he'd chosen to sit. He then rested the pillow on top of the folded sleeping bag and put the comic books under his side of the couch. He put the box of candy in the middle of the couch, imagining Squidward and his hand reaching into it at the same time and accidentally touching.

"Hee, hee, hee!" SpongeBob laughed, blushing. Squidward had been leaning against the door frame, watching SpongeBob set the room up. He was nervous, it was causing him to be unnaturally quiet. He was shaking, slightly, and sweat was running down his forehead. He wiped it off with the back of his hand, then stepped into the living room as SpongeBob took the movie out of the case and pushed it into the VCR. He then turned the tv on and grabbed the remote, then ran over to the couch and plopped down on his pillow, a mad grin on his face. SpongeBob looked to the left, wondering where Squidward was and found him right in his view!

"Squidward!! Is the popcorn ready yet?! Did you make the hot cocoa?!" SpongeBob yelped, excitedly, shaking his fists. Squidward grumbled.

"I'm in the process--" Squidward was interrupted.

"Oh, I forgot!! These flowers are for you..." SpongeBob said, a slight blush on his face as he handed out flowers. Squidward hesitated, looking into SpongeBob's eyes for a second, before taking them.

"Uh..." Squidward said, awkwardly, staring at the flowers. He didn't bother raising them to his nose but he could smell them from where they were in his hands. They smelled lovely but why did SpongeBob give them to him? Lowering the flowers, Squidward noticed SpongeBob opening the box of candy and picking up a piece of chocolate. He threw it up into the air and caught it in his mouth, chewing annoyingly.

"How much do you expect us to eat tonight, anyway? Popcorn, hot chocolate, _and _candy?! It'll go straight to my thighs, ya know!" Squidward yelled, hands on his hips as he glared at SpongeBob, who was just smiling as he licked his lips.

"Oh, don't be such a grouch, Squiddy! You could use some meat on your bones, anyhow!" SpongeBob said, moving his eyes back to the tv. It was going through the previews, so there was no need for him to pause it.

Squidward did nothing but mumble something SpongeBob did not hear before going back into the kitchen.

"_You could use some meat on your bones, anyhow!" _Squidward mocked, his face scrunched up and his front teeth sticking out, to resemble SpongeBob. He then _hmphed _and took the popcorn out of the microwave. He got a bowl from the cabinet and poured the popcorn into it, then got two mugs and hot coco mix. He poured milk into each mug and then placed them in the microwave, waiting for them to heat up. As they were heating, he went back over to the living room, peeking at SpongeBob and not letting him know he was watching.

The sponge was simply staring at the tv watching a preview for an old movie. That let Squidward know that the movie was an old one... but which one? He sighed, then made his way back over to the microwave. He took the mugs out and poured the mix into each one and mixed it. Squidward didn't want to take two trips, he just wanted to get this night over with, so he took a mug in each hand and then grabbed the popcorn bowl with his arm. It was a bit of a struggle but Squidward made it to the livingroom without dropping a thing.

"Oh, here, let me help you!" SpongeBob said, getting up from the couch and walking over to Squidward. He grabbed the popcorn and a warm mug, then ran back over to the couch. Squidward squinted at SpongeBob, then slowly walked over to the couch. He cleared his throat as he walked in front of SpongeBob, then swallowed as he looked down at the couch. He was going to spend the night watching a movie with SpongeBob only a foot away from him, the whole entire time! This was going to be one unhappy experience. Squidward gripped his mug tighter and sat down beside SpongeBob and the open box of candy.

"What... what movie did you pick?" asked Squidward, trying to feign relaxation.

_I have to calm down! SpongeBob's going to know something's wrong! Besides, it's not like I have a reason to be worried! I don't like him! Really._

"Uh-uh! I'm not telling, you're going to have to see for yourself!" teased SpongeBob, a smirk on his face as he reached down into the popcorn bowl on his lap. Squidward lowered his brows, then angrily ripped the remote from SpongeBob's hand.

"It's _my _tv, I have control over the remote!" said Squidward, childishly. He wanted to get back at SpongeBob for causing him so much mental agony. Being rude seemed like a good way to do it.

_This idiot has me thinking like an insane person! _thought Squidward, glaring at SpongeBob out of the corner of his eyes. SpongeBob was merely sitting, staring at the TV and chewing on popcorn as if Squidward hadn't lashed out at him at all. Squidward looked back at the tv. Previews, still, he'd noticed, so he pressed the 'fast forward' button until SpongeBob yelped out, "Aaaah! Hit play! Hit play, we're going to miss the whole entire movie!". Squidward noticed SpongeBob's fingers were digging into the pillow he sat on.

_The last thing he needs is hot cocoa and candy... _thought Squidward, quickly hitting the 'play' button.

"Rewind it a little, I wanna start from the very, very beginning..." SpongeBob said, pointing at the TV, eyes squinted. Squidward re-winded it until the words 'based on a true story' showed up.

"Alittle more," SpongeBob said.

"What for?!" Squidward yelled.

"I wanna see who the director is!" SpongeBob said.

SpongeBob smiled as Squidward re-winded it a second longer and the words 'directed by James Fishfin' showed. Squidward turned toward SpongeBob.

"Are you happy, now? Has seeing those words made your life better?" Squidward asked, sarcastic and irritated. SpongeBob shook his head up and down, smiling, as dramatic music filled the room and more words showed up against a dark background. Finally, the movie began. Squidward noticed a big ship and that was all he needed to see, his eyes going wide as he realised what movie it was. It was the underwater version of 'Titanic'.

_Aaaaah!! Why'd he pick THIS movie?! _Squidward thought, eyes wide as he clenched his fists. His whole body was tense.

_Is he trying to tell me something?! Why did he pick such a romantic movie?! _

_Oh, what am I thinking? It's just a movie he probably had lying around the house! _

_But then what were the flowers for? Flowers, chocolate, and a romantic movie?! Could it possibly just be a coincidence? _

_Oh, of course it is! He's too stupid to do any of this ON PURPOSE! I am seriously giving him way too much credit! This is SPONGEBOB we're talking about here!_

Squidward relaxed slightly at that thought.

"Do you know what movie it is, yet?" asked SpongeBob, smiling.

"Yes," Squidward said, simply.

"Do you like this movie?" SpongeBob asked, his face serious as he looked at Squidward out of the corner of his eyes. Squidward shifted, brow lifting slightly at the question. Did he want to admit to liking this movie? If he lied and said he didn't like it, he'd just end up hurting SpongeBob's feelings and he didn't want to do that. Obviously SpongeBob was looking forward to this and Squidward didn't want to ruin his night.

_Since when do I care so much about SpongeBob's stupid FEELINGS?! _Squidward asked himself. He clenched and unclenched his hands.

"Kinda," Squidward said, leaving it at that. SpongeBob smiled, reaching into the box of candy, taking out another chocolate which he shoved into his mouth. He chewed loudly, even though his mouth was shut. Squidward twitched, irritated. He took a sip of his own hot chocolate to drown out the sound of SpongeBob's loud chewing and slurping.

_Yeah. I've got feelings for this annoying fool, suuuuure... _Squidward sarcastically thought, smiling into his cup. SpongeBob then took a sip of his own hot chocolate, licking his lips after the first sip.

"Mmm! This is really good, Squiddy!" SpongeBob exclaimed, smiling at his neighbor. Squidward flicked his eyes to SpongeBob's, then licked his own lips.

"Yeah, it is pretty good, isn't it?" Squidward said, smugly, taking another sip from his mug and sighing happily after. SpongeBob blinked, watching Squidward and then looking back at the tv.

After five minutes of silence (besides SpongeBob's chewing and slurping), SpongeBob asked, "Would you like some chocolate, Squidward? I got it especially for us to share... _together_," SpongeBob said, his pupils dilated. Squidward pursed his lips, looking down at the candy between them. Maybe one piece wouldn't hurt... it did look awfully tasty. He reached down between them, picking up the most attractive looking chocolate. He put it into his mouth and chewed slowly.

"Do you _liiiiike it_?" SpongeBob asked, smiling. Squidward swallowed the chocolate.

"I guess it's okay," Squidward said, reaching for another piece. SpongeBob giggled.

_I knew he'd like it! _SpongeBob thought.

Further into the movie, SpongeBob turned toward Squidward and held his finger up.

"He's an artist, just like _you_, Squidward! Hee, hee!" the sponge said, laughing. Squidward turned his head in SpongeBob's direction and shrugged. Oh, great, he got to be referred to the guy that died in the end?

"Hmm, yeah..." Squidward said, unenthusiastically. He then yawned, putting his hand to his mouth.

_See? I can't like SpongeBob. If I liked SpongeBob, I wouldn't be so relaxed right now! I've got nothing to worry about! _

Squidward sighed,relieved.

"Are you having fun, Squidward?" SpongeBob asked, brows lifted as he turned to his friend, again. Squidward blinked, then looked at SpongeBob.

"Oh, yeah, mhm," Squidward replied sarcastically. SpongeBob smiled at the words, though.

"Oh, good! I thought you were getting bored..." SpongeBob said, turning back to the tv. Squidward turned back to the tv as well, watching Jack Drownshrimp spit over the side of the boat. Then Rose did, as well, and Squidward bared his teeth.

"They are so gross!" Squidward said. SpongeBob laughed, holding his stomach.

"He's just tryna teach her to be more fun, is all, Squidward!" SpongeBob said, smiling. Squidward shook his head back and forth.

"Spitting on a boat is not _fun! _It's disgusting!" Squidward argued. SpongeBob rested his hand on Squidward's shoulder.

"Squidward, you should take Jack's advice! You're much too much like Rose! Dahahaha!!" SpongeBob kicked his legs and shut his eyes, he thought that was way too funny.

"I am _not!" _Squidward yelled, hands on his hips. After that reply, SpongeBob just started laughing louder.

_Squidward is Rose!! _SpongeBob thought, banging his fist against the couch's arm. He was imagining Squidward wearing a dress. Squidward ran his hand down the side of his face.

_The sugar's kicked in... Dear Neptune, help me... _he thought. His left eyelid twitched.

Once SpongeBob calmed down, he wiped a tear from his eye. He sighed, letting out a few more chuckles, then was quiet and continued watching the movie. Squidward blinked, glad SpongeBob's irritating laughing session was over. Squidward was relieved, he was quite sure that he had no feelings for SpongeBob. His neighbor was way too annoying for such a thing to be possible.

_See? I knew I wouldn't have feelings for him! _Squidward thought, crossing his arms over his chest.

Toward the middle of the movie, when Jack and Rose were running away from a guy with a weapon, SpongeBob cleared his throat.

"Hey, Squidward?" SpongeBob asked. Squidward sighed, loudly, turning his head toward SpongeBob.

"SpongeBob, don't you ever shut up? I'm _trying _to watch the movie, here!" Squidward said, glaring at SpongeBob.

"Sorry, I... just wanted to thank you for inviting me over..." SpongeBob said.

"I didn't _want _to--" Squidward began.

"Even if you didn't _want _to invite me over, I'm still having a really good time. I like spending time with you..." SpongeBob said, smiling slightly. Squidward was quiet as he looked down at the floor, thinking.

"Maybe, just maybe... perhaps you kinda like spending time with me a little, too?" SpongeBob asked, hands clasped together as he smiled hopefully. Squidward hesitated, looking into the empty cup in his hand. His pause was too long and SpongeBob got impatient.

"Do ya? Do ya? Huh?" SpongeBob asked, again. Squidward crossed his arms over his chest.

"... No. I told you, I'm just doing this for the good luck," Squidward said.

_I don't like SpongeBob so of course I don't like spending time with him, either! _Squidward tried convincing himself.

At those words, SpongeBob frowned.

"Not even a little?" asked SpongeBob.

"No!" Squidward said, angrily.

"Not even the tiniest bit...?" SpongeBob asked.

"Not even the tiniest bit! I _don't_ like you! So _why_ would I like spending _time_ with you?! I _hate _spending time with you!" Squidward yelled, his face inches away from SpongeBob's. He tried ignoring the guilt he felt as SpongeBob blinked rapidly, his blue eyes widening. Squidward went back over to his side of the couch, resting his head on his hand.

"Oh..." SpongeBob said, looking at his lap as the movie went on. Squidward's brows raised. The guilt was becoming unbearable. He hadn't meant to yell at him like that, his emotions had gotten the better of him.

_Oh, I wish I didn't care about how he felt so much! Stupid, stupid--! _

SpongeBob sniffed and his bottom lip trembled as he let out a small sob. Squidward turned the other way, trying to ignore SpongeBob. It was hard, his neighbor was suddenly balling his eyes out!

_Grrr!! Don't look at him! He's always crying, this time is no different! I don't care if he cries, I don't! I don't! _

Squidward swallowed, closing his eyes tight and clenching his fists. He then stood up from the couch and tensely turned toward SpongeBob.

"O-okay! Okay, I admit it! I _do _like spending time with you! J-just stop crying!" Squidward yelled. He couldn't stop himself.

"Y-you're just sayin' that so you can watch the movie without having to listen to me!" SpongeBob cried, covering his eyes with his hands. Tears were wetting his lap and pillow. Squidward stepped up to SpongeBob and put his hands on his shoulders.

"N-no, really, SpongeBob!" Squidward cried, picking SpongeBob up and holding him close to his face. SpongeBob lowered his hands and looked into Squidward's eyes, then sniffed.

"Promise? You're not just saying that?" he asked, his voice shaking.

"No... R-really... I... I like spending time with you," Squidward said, looking away from SpongeBob's eyes. He was feeling quite ashamed of himself. SpongeBob smiled and hugged Squidward, who gasped at the contact.

"Aw! I knew you really liked me deep down!" SpongeBob said, rubbing his face against the front of Squidward's shirt, wettening it. Squidward flinched.

_What's happening to me? Why is my heart beating so fast? I thought I didn't like SpongeBob! Why does it feel like I do?! Oh... I don't want to like him! I don't want to like NORMAL PEOPLE, let alone SpongeBob! It's just too much! Urg, I need him to stop touching me before I end up doing something irrational..._

"Okay, hug time is over, you're getting tears all over me," Squidward said, pushing SpongeBob forcefully back onto the couch. He'd noticed SpongeBob had a small smile on his face and his eyes were still wet. SpongeBob wiped them dry with the back of his arm, watching Squidward once he was all better.

Squidward sat back down on the couch and then looked at the tv, barely paying attention.

_This is all so confusing! DO I have feelings for SpongeBob? I... I think I might... oh, boy... this isn't good. _

Squidward looked at SpongeBob, hating how his first thought upon seeing him had to do with how nicely the light from the television hit his face.

_Consider your life ruined, Squidward. You're going to have to keep this a secret for the rest of your life. I'm going to be even more miserable than before!_

Squidward sighed unhappily and tried to stop thinking, putting his attention on the movie. It'd be over, soon, luckily. Only an hour or so left and then SpongeBob could go home. Squidward did wonder why SpongeBob ended up taking comic books when they were only meant to watch a movie. Maybe he'd been hoping that Squidward would let him stay the night?Squidward grinded his teeth.

--

Toward the end of the movie, SpongeBob had tears in his eyes.

"Why did he have to die?! Why, why, why?!" SpongeBob cried, dramatically clenching his fists while looking up at the ceiling. It was a sad scene, Squidward admitted, but seriously, it was only a movie. And people died all the time, it was only natural.

"SpongeBob, it's only a movie. You don't have to cry about it," Squidward said.

"But it's based on a true story! Waaaah, haa, haaaaa!!" SpongeBob cried, hands on his head.

"You've never even seen the guy, why do you care that he died?!" Squidward asked.

"Just because I've never met him doesn't mean that it doesn't matter that he died, Squidward!" SpongeBob said, tears dripping off his nose. Squidward glared at his forehead as SpongeBob continued to cry.

"Squidward, can I hug you?!" SpongeBob cried in a squeaky voice, turning toward Squidward with shaky outstretched arms. Squidward looked into SpongeBob's wet, light blue eyes, and then glowered.

"No! Hug something else!" he replied, crossing his arms over his chest. He was supposed to surpress these feelings, there was no way he was going to allow SpongeBob to hug him again.

SpongeBob sniffed, looking around the room. He looked down at the pillow he sat on and ripped it out from under him, hugging it close. The fluffy pillow absorbed his tears as he pressed his face into it. A second later, he threw it onto the floor.

"_It's not the same!_ I need a _living being!" _SpongeBob angrily cried. Squidward sighed, loudly, rolling his eyes.

"Hug yourself!" Squidward said. He then got a small smile on his face as he quietly began to laugh.

"Huh, huh... 'hug yourself'..." he whispered to himself. He chuckled again, admiring his humour. He looked to his left and noticed SpongeBob was hugging himself, tightly. Squidward blinked, wondering how on earth he actually had feelings for this moron. If he even _did _have feelings for him. Squidward was a bit confused with the whole thing. He'd never actually had feelings for anyone before, these emotions were all so new to him. What did it feel like to have feelings for someone? The feelings he felt were much like the feelings portrayed in romance movies and books. The racing heart, the jealousy, the fact that they can't get him/her off their mind. Squidward shivered, disgusted with himself. He'd never felt so ashamed.

_Why do I have to like SPONGEBOB, the most annoying person on the planet?! We're nothing alike, we're not supposed to like eachother! If I'd ever liked someone, it should have been Squilliam! He's pretty much me with a unibrow! I shouldn't like SpongeBob. _

_I have to stop thinking about this! My plan is to repress these feelings! Thinking about them is only making everything worse! I have to--_

Squidward's mind stopped working once he felt something against his side. SpongeBob had leaned against him. His crying stopped but he was sniffling and tears were falling from his eyes, still. Squidward tensed and started to sweat, trying to keep his breathing steady. SpongeBob felt warm and comfortable against his side and it made Squidward's lungs feel much to small. He swallowed and started to shake, his nerves getting the better of him. He pulled on the end of his shirt but didn't dare move the arm and shoulder SpongeBob was leaning against. Squidward cleared his throat, shutting his eyes. Brows lowered, he opened them, trying to remain 'calm' as he spoke.

"Sp-SpongeBob! I, why... What did I tell you about huggin' me?!" he asked, trying to sound irritated. He ended up sounding more frightened than irritated, though, and he inwardly flinched. Luckily SpongeBob was too naive to notice.

"W-well... technically, I'm not actually hugging you..." was SpongeBob's excuse. Squidward took in a deep breath, then let it out, trying to regain his composure. SpongeBob was simply leaning on him, why was it making him so uncomfortable?

_Well, for starters, we're watching the end of a romantic movie! And we're alone in my house, AT NIGHT! AND he has FEELINGS for me!! Not to mention the fact that I might have feelings for him, as well, and we're free to do anything we want at the moment! _

_Don't think like that! That's the worst way to think at a moment like this! All I have to do is tell SpongeBob to push over! It's simple! He'll listen to me, he always does!_

"P-push over!" Squidward yelped, shoving SpongeBob over to the other side of the couch. SpongeBob's eyes widened as he did so, he'd started to think Squidward was okay with the touching. On the other side of the couch, SpongeBob cleared his throat against his fist.

"... Sorry," SpongeBob said, folding his hands in his lap. Squidward stared at SpongeBob, his pupils small.

"Well, looks like the movie's over, anyways. Ha, I didn't even notice! Funny, huh?" SpongeBob said, watching the credits. Squidward blinked, looking away from SpongeBob and at the tv. He hadn't noticed the movie was over, either. Relived, Squidward stood up from the couch, stretching. At last, the movie was over! SpongeBob would be gone any minute, now!

"Well, SpongeBob! The movie's over! Looks like it's time for you to lah-eeve!" Squidward said, smiling. SpongeBob gasped, jumping off the couch and onto the floor.

"No! Already?!" SpongeBob yelped, looking up at Squidward with large eyes. Squidward nodded, taking the movie out of the VCR and putting it into the case. He gave the movie to SpongeBob, who took it in his hands, reluctantly.

"Squidward, do I _have _to leave?! I don't wanna go! I want to stay here! Pleeeeasee let me stay!!" SpongeBob pleaded, falling to his knees and clasping his hands together. Squidward tried to ignore him while he took the pillow and sleeping bag from the couch. He then gasped and turned toward SpongeBob.

"AHA! I knew you took that sleeping bag because you were planning on sleeping over!" Squidward yelled, squinting. SpongeBob frowned and played with his tie.

"I thought I could convince you to let me stay..." SpongeBob said, quietly. Squidward shook his head back and forth, disappointed.

"No way! You're not staying here while I'm asleep!" Squidward said, putting the folded sleeping bag on the floor and then putting the pillow on top. He then walked over to the couch and took the candy box and wrappers off it. He read the cover, it said 'I love you' on it and there were hearts all over. Squidward shivered, remembering that both he and SpongeBob were eating out of this box at the same time.

_It's just a coincidence, right? He's not trying to send me a message, is he? _

_Maybe he's just set everything up like this for the illusion... _

"Aw, please, please, please, please, please! You'll get more good luck! And I swear, I won't make a peep! I've even taken some Mermaidman and Barncale Boy comics to amuse myself before I fall asleep so I won't have to turn the tv on!" SpongeBob whined, taking a comic from under the couch and holding it up to Squidward.

Squidward walked into the kitchen, throwing the empty box of candy in the trash. He turned around, looking down at SpongeBob who had followed him. His hands were still clasped together.

"I won't even ask for a glass of water! I'll sleep on the couch and I won't bother you once, I promise!" SpongeBob begged. Squidward sighed, irritated, then put his head in his hand.

"Al... alright! If it'll get you to shut up, you can sleep over! Are you happy now?!" Squidward said, looking off in the other direction with his arms across his chest. SpongeBob gasped, jumped into the air 'whooing', then ran around Squidward five times. Squidward stopped him from running by grabbing onto his head and lifting him off the ground.

"Stop doing that. And clean up the rest of the livingroom! And you'd better be quiet! I'm a _very _light sleeper!" Squidward said, dropping SpongeBob onto the ground. SpongeBob was shaking with exitement but made sure he didn't burst out laughing. He whispered, "Thanks Squidward...!" and then hugged him. Squidward groaned, he had way too many hugs from his neighbor tonight. The fact that he was enjoying them made it ten times worse.

Squidward quickly pushed SpongeBob away and then swiftly left the kitchen, walking up the stairs, quietly. SpongeBob watched until he was out of sight and then ran back into the livingroom, setting his sleeping bag and pillow up on the couch. He got the cups and popcorn bowl and then quietly walked into the kitchen, putting the dishes into the sink. SpongeBob walked back into the livingroom, stretched, got into his sleeping bag, and then took a Mermaidman and Barnacle boy comic from under the couch. He flipped open to the first page and started reading. Even if he couldn't see Squidward, this was the greatest night of his life. He'd always wanted to sleep over Squidward's house.

_I've gotta start somewhere! Maybe one day Squidward will actually let me sleep in his bed with him! We could tell stories and talk about eachother's day and then fall asleep together, all warm and cozy..._

SpongeBob sighed, eyes half-lidded as he imagined what he hoped would be the future. His comic book was forgotten.

--

Upstairs, Squidward got into his purple night shirt and placed a pajama hat on his head. He stretched, hearing his back crack, and then reached down to touch his toes. Yawning, he walked into his bathroom and brushed his teeth. Then he came back into his room and pulled the covers down on his bed, getting under the cold blankets. They warmed quickly and he sighed, shutting his eyes.

_SpongeBob's in my house, right now. What has happened to my brain? Why am I allowing this? I never would have let him sleep over, before. Although, I didn't have feelings for him, before. At least not any feelings like THIS. I HATE these feelings. I wish I didn't have them... they're so tiring! Stupid SpongeBob... I wish I'd stop thinking about him! No wonder why I'm going insane... thinking about HIM all the time can't be healthy. _

Squidward turned over, getting his clarinet off the small drawer beside his bed. He held it close, then yawned again. He was tired, why couldn't he fall asleep? Tucking Clary under the covers, he turned the other way and shut his eyes, trying not to think about SpongeBob. Trying didn't help much, he was thinking about SpongeBob seven seconds later.

_Stupid SpongeBob. How can I like him? What part of his personality could I possibly be attracted to?! _

_I don't know... maybe I like him bcause he's the only person who likes ME. Nobody's ever liked me before, not like that. I was always the loser, the failure! SpongeBob looks at me like I'm greatness, just like he should! Maybe that's why I like him... because he respects me, unlike everyone else in this stupid town. _

_What's so bad about liking him, anyway? Why do I got to repress it?_

Squidward shook his head back and forth. He couldn't think like that, it might result in him actually _telling _SpongeBob his 'feelings' for him.

_He's an absolute MORON! I'm not supposed to like morons, I'm supposed to like clever, decent, classy people! Not childish, idiotic, annoying people! _

_Oh! I'm thinking about him, again! Will I ever find peace?! I haven't had a good night's sleep in days because of these thoughts! I need to get some peace before I get as insane as that squirrel!_

Squidward turned over and grabbed his clarinet.

"Oh, Clary, maybe the sound of your voice will help me fall asleep," Squidward said, bringing the clarinet to his mouth.

--

Downstairs, SpongeBob put his comic book back under the couch and turned over so his face was against the back of the couch. He smiled, shut his eyes, shifted a few times, and then sighed. This was the greatest night of his life. Squidward had even admitted that he liked spending time with him! SpongeBob knew that Squidward did all along.

_Aaah... such a warm house. Such a nice couch... Squidward's so great for letting me sleep over. I hope he lets me do it again, sometime. _SpongeBob thought. His eyes snapped open once he'd heard music coming from upstairs. Smiling, he realized Squidward was playing his clarinet.

"Nighty night, Squidward..." SpongeBob whispered, looking up at the ceiling.

* * *

**This chapter was so hard to write. How do I make Squidward realize he likes SpongeBob but keep him in character at the same time? One second he hates him, another he likes him and is in denial, then he hates him again and wonders why he thinks he likes him. He's just very confused. It's a bit like a love/hate relationship. If you ask me, that's what their relationship is like, canon-wise (at least from Squidward's point-of-view). **

**So, by the end of this chapter, Squidward realizes he likes SpongeBob but he's decided that he's going to suppress the feelings. He's going to try to hide them from SpongeBob AND himself (hiding things from yourself is not that easy, lol).**

**Did anything in this chapter bother you? Is there anything you liked in particular? **


End file.
